Isaiah Thomas will not be suspended for Game 4 versus the Atlanta Hawks by the NBA for his cheap shot to Hawks guard Dennis Schroder’s head in Game 3.
According to the Boston Celtics reporter for ESPN Chris Forsberg, Celtics All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas will not be suspended by the NBA for Game 4 versus the Atlanta Hawks for his hit to the head of Atlanta point guard Dennis Schroder in Game 3 Friday night.
Source: No suspension for Isaiah Thomas.
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) April 23, 2016
The NBA, however, did assess a Flagrant 1 foul to Thomas for the incident he had Friday night with Schroder, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Chris Vivlamore.
NBA assessed Isaiah Thomas a Flagrant 1 foul for incident with Dennis Schroder.
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) April 23, 2016
Thomas otherwise had a dynamic game for the Celtics in Game 3 at TD Garden in Boston. His game-high 42 points led the Celtics to an eight-point victory over the Hawks, who carried a 2-0 series lead heading into Game 3.
Many around the league felt that Thomas was going to receive a one-game suspension because of recent precedents in NBA Playoff game with regards to hits in the head.
In the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals, Hawks center Al Horford was ejected from Game 3 versus the Cleveland Cavaliers for essentially pile-driving Cleveland point guard Matthew Dellavedova.
In the first round of the 2014 Western Conference Playoffs, Memphis Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph was suspended for the deciding Game 7 for his head shot to then rookie Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams. That hit cost the Grizzlies the series. Randolph also struck Adams in transition like Thomas did to Schroder on Friday night in Boston.
Both Eastern Conference rivals will take to the hardwood again on Sunday evening, as Boston looks to tie the series up at two games apiece, while Atlanta prefers to take a 3-1 series lead home to Philips Arena for Game 5 next week.
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