Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas out for rest of playoffs with hip injury

Celtics star Isaiah Thomas will miss the rest of the postseason with a hip injury.

Celtics star Isaiah Thomas will miss the rest of the postseason with a hip injury, the team announced Saturday.

Thomas re-aggravated the injury during the third quarter of Friday night’s conference finals loss to the Cavs, a frustrating 130–86 blowout that put Cleveland up 2–0 in the series.

“Isaiah has worked tirelessly to manage this injury since it first occurred,” said Celtics Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian McKeon. “The swelling increased during the first two games against Cleveland, and in order to avoid more significant long-term damage to his hip, we could no longer allow him to continue.”

The breakout star of Boston’s successful season, Thomas’ status deals a major blow to a Boston team already staggering after two difficult home defeats to LeBron James and the Cavs. Boston will likely turn to Marcus Smart at point guard.

Legendary season by @Isaiah_Thomas 💪🏼With the personal tragedy and injuries he's overcome, getting through game 7 was heroic#thelittleguy

— Danny Ainge (@danielrainge) May 20, 2017

Thomas averaged 23.3 points and 6.7 assists in 15 playoff games, leading Boston to series wins over Chicago and Washington.