BOSTON Isaiah Thomas did not want to come back to Boston this way, still nursing his hip along, having made his season debut only the night before against Portland. Hed hoped he would have played more by now, and that hed be able to take the floor at TD Garden and be his old self.But once it was clear that he still would be on a tight minutes restriction, and would not play against the Celtics in the second half of a back-to-back, Thomas resigned himself to a night in which he would remain stapled to the bench, pushing back his celebration of a Boston return to the Cavs next game here, on Feb.11."There was no way I was going to come back against Boston and only play 17 minutes,"Thomas said. "Its too big of an opportunity to just play against my former teammates, my former coaches, the city that gave me my biggest Cameron Maybin Jersey opportunity."MORE: Thomas wanted to remain mostly incognito on Wednesday. Didnt matter. Without logging a minute of playing time, and despite a 102-88 drubbing by the Celtics, Thomas was the overriding story here, off the court and on it.Before the game, out of force of habit, he entered the arena and, rather than taking a left into the gray and dilapidated visitors locker room, took a right toward the gleaming Celtics logo."I almost walked that way,"he said with a big smile, "into their locker room."During a break in the second quarter, Thomas whod requested Boston show no tribute video was on the arena scoreboard for a stretch in his Cavs jacket. He smiled at first, but broke into a wide grin as the locals stood and applauded their appreciation.They remembered his arrival from Phoenix in 2015 as a potential sixth man, and by 2017, the transformation he made, all 5-9of him, into an MVP candidate who dominated fourth quarters.Fans show Isaiah Thomas Andre Dawson Jersey love in Boston! NBA (@NBA) They remembered his heartbreak during the last postseason, when he scrambled to play through his sisters death on the eve of the playoffs, and still managed to average 23points in the opening series against Chicago, and scored 33 points on her birthday. They remembered his tooth getting knocked out in the next series against Washington, and Thomas still averaging 27.4 points and 7.1 a sists despite the painful dental work and the still-heavy heart. They remembered how he tried to fight through his hip injury in the Celtics hopele s conference finals lo s to Cleveland in May.Celtics fans cheered him. The me sage was clear. There was no video tribute nece sary. Thomas cracked. If hed hoped to remain incognito simply because he was not on the floor, it didnt take him long to realize thatd be impo sible. He gave the crowd a two-handed salute of peace signs."I wasnt expecting nothing like that to happen, especially not this time with them asking not to do the tribute,"Thomas said. "But they showed their true colors, like they always do, and I keep Jarlin Garcia Jersey saying it, but its genuine love on both sides. The fans are everything here."Thomas charmed, again, the Boston media, which had always been glad for his forthrightne s. He answered questions from reporters even after Cavs PR had told the scrum the interview was done. He talked about Celtics president Danny Ainge Thomas was bitter towardAinge after the trade that sent him to Cleveland setting things right between the two men with a text on Tuesday night."Like I said, theres no hard feelings,"Thomas said, before needling Ainge about his legendary Christmas cards. "Only hard feelings was that Danny didnt send me no Christmas card this year. He sent me one the last two years. He could have found my addre s, somehow."MORE: The warm-and-fuzzies around Thomas were cozy on a frigid January night, but for Thomas, perhaps the best part of the evening could be found in the black-and-white of the games Xs and Os. Because no matter his status as a fan favorite, Thomas has 43 games plus the postseason to prove he is worth his salt. He will be a free agent this summer, and he needs a healthy return to star-level production to get the big payday hes expecting.After Thomas surprised everyone, including himself, with a sterling return on Tuesday (17 points in 19 minutes), the Cavaliers desperately mi sed his scoring burst on Wednesday. Cleveland looked like an old team out of ideas against the Celtics, and of course, seven of the 11 guys the Cavs put on the floor Blank Jersey in the game were 31 or older.Each time LeBron James went to the bench, the teams offense went sideways. Kevin Love, once the star-player fixation for Celtics fans, was 1-for-11. Jae Crowder, shippedfrom Boston to Cleveland as part of the trade that sent away Thomas, had a much tougher return, going 2-for-12. Another ex-Celtic, enigmatic Jeff Green, was 3-for-11 from the field.James went to the bench with 50 seconds to play in the first quarter, then sat for the opening 2:28 of the second quarter, a total of 3:18. In that time, the Cavaliers offense scored three points on 1-for-9 shooting with two turnovers. A six-point Boston lead ballooned to a 13-point lead. James sat out the fourth quarter, the Cavs having ceded the lo s.Just one game in, and Thomas looked vital to the Cleveland operation in his absence.Much was Jazz Chisholm Jersey made in the Cavs locker room when James said, "I dont know who we are,"and that quote will dominate much of the coverage of this Cleveland team for the next couple of days. But the second half of that quote should stand out: " what we can be, until we get IT back consistently."James is right. The Cavaliers have held up well in the first half of the season, largely thanks to the efforts of James himself, who is having an MVP season. But the team around James is a chicken wire and bubble gum operation, and Thomas is the only guy who can change that, who can take ball-handling pre sure off James and give the Cavs consistent offense when James goes to the bench.By the time Wednesday came to an end, Thomas had buried the hatchet with Ainge, soaked up a wave of love from nearly 19,000 attendees, showed just how important he is for the Cavs and added to his free-agency case. Not a bad night for a guy who did not even play. Related Articles Ranking 25 best NBA stars to change teams in their primes, from Wilt to KD