Revenge is a dish best served with 20 points and a loss.
That’s how much Isaiah Thomas scored to go along with nine assists and five rebounds to help the Los Angeles Lakers beat his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, 127-113 on Sunday.
Thomas was supposed to fill the Kyrie Irving role next to LeBron James’ when the Cavaliers acquired him from Boston last summer.
But his stay in Cleveland was a short one as the team’s struggles, combined with lack of chemistry, led to the Cavaliers giving up on Thomas and trading to the Lakers at February’s trade deadline.
In his first chance to get back at Cleveland, Thomas – who has accumulated several chips on his shoulder during his underdog career – had one of his best games of the season to hand LeBron and Co. a loss.
Thomas downplayed any extra motivation he had coming into the game, saying afterwards: “No, I don’t need to show anybody. They know what I can do. I only played 15 games for them, so it’s really not about showing them what I can do. The world knows what I can do and what I bring to the table.
“I took it as another game and I just wanted to win and we did a helluva job as a team, beating that really good team over there.”
While the Cavaliers could certainly use a player capable of scoring 20 points and dishing nine assists, it’s not as if Thomas has been lighting the world on fire since moving to Los Angeles.
The 29-year-old former All-Star has been better with the Lakers, but his shooting efficiency is still leaving a lot to be desired – 39.6 per cent from the field and 31.9 per cent from long range.
Thomas may well put his hip injury in the rearview mirror and return to his old form by the end of the season, but for now he’s still not the player the Cavaliers had hoped they traded for – even if Sunday showed otherwise.
