Isaiah Thomas Criticizes DeMarre Carroll for Flagrant Foul in Celtics vs Raptors

Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas voiced his displeasure about a hard foul by Toronto Raptors forward DeMarre Carroll during Friday night's intense clash between the Eastern Conference contenders.

Thomas, who scored 20 points in his team's 107-97 loss, was visibly upset after getting pushed from behind by Carroll in the second quarter. The play was ruled a flagrant-1 foul.

"It was intentional. Did you see it?" Thomas said, per ESPN.com. "Yeah, that's not a basketball play by any means. Guys who aren't factors in games do that. It is what it is.

"It's not like back in the day where you can put your hands up and fight a guy. You can't do that. But that was not a basketball play whatsoever, and that's not cool that he did that."

Carroll ranks sixth on the Raptors in scoring average for the season and third in steals. He tallied six points and four rebounds to go along with five fouls in 28 minutes Friday.

Meanwhile, Thomas has played his way into the Most Valuable Player conversation with some terrific performances in recent months, almost single-handedly willing the Celtics to several victories with outstanding fourth quarters.

Toronto's victory moved it within three games of Boston for the second seed in the East. The reigning champion Cleveland Cavaliers are atop the conference and four games clear of all competition.

The Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks are also in the fight for a top-four spot, but the Raptors and Celtics could very well be on a collision course for the conference semifinals.

That would make for some entertaining matchups across what would likely be an extended series. Friday's incident merely added more fuel to the potential fire.