Isaiah Thomas Posts 4th-Highest Monthly Per-Game Average in Celtics History

Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas averaged 32.9 points per game in January, the fourth-highest average in a calendar month in team history, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Paul Pierce posted the highest per-game scoring output in Celtics history in February 2006, posting 33.5 points per contest. Larry Bird ranks both second and third on the list, averaging 33.3 points in April 1987 and 33.1 in February 1988. However, Thomas' output represented the highest per-game average during January in franchise history.

Thomas finished the month on a high note, posting 41 points, eight assists and two steals in a win over the Pistons on Monday evening. The Celtics have now won four games in a row following a three-game losing streak. Over those four wins, Thomas has averaged 34.3 points per contest.

Thomas has scored at least 20 points in the fourth quarter of a game four times already this season. Nobody else has done so more than once in the 2016-17 campaign, per ESPN Stats & Info. He also scored 40 points for the fourth time in the last 21 games after never reaching the total previously and has tallied at least 20 points in 32 straight games. It marks the second-longest such streak in franchise history behind John Havlicek in the 1971-72 season.

Boston emerged from January with a 10-4 record, pushing the team into second in the Eastern Conference standings and just 2.5 games back of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top spot. Thomas led the team in scoring in each of the club's 14 games.

Although he's not a starter, Thomas made his second consecutive All-Star Game since joining the Celtics, and his production has resulted in significant improvement on a team that finished fifth in the conference last season. With plenty of time remaining in the 2016-17 season, Boston has a chance to enter the postseason as a competitor in a year where the favorite (Cleveland) is faltering a bit.