The Bad Boys' Final Triumph: Isiah Thomas Eliminates the Celtics in OT

May 17, 1991 - Isiah Thomas was being held together by scotch tape for most of the 1990-91 season. After missing 34 games in the regular season following wrist surgery, the Detroit Pistons' all-star guard suffered a sprained foot in Game 1 of his team's second round series against the Boston Celtics. Rendered to ineffectively playing every other game of the series, Thomas went scoreless in Game 5. Partway through Game 6, his rust remained apparent. But then the Pistons found themselves in the midst of an overtime period with a series victory or a return to the Boston Garden for Game 7 on the line. Such an ultimatum prompted Thomas to come to life, scoring eight of his team's final 10 points in the extra period and sealing the Pistons' final playoff series win of the decade. Following the victory, the Pistons would be swept by the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals. The following season, they'd lose in five to the New York Knicks in the first round and from there, the re-build was on. This 1991 victory over Larry Bird on the Celtics proved to be the Bad Boys' final ride. Box Score: https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199105170DET.html Eastern Conference Finals preview alluding to Thomas' foot injury: https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/19/sports/basketball-eastern-conference-finals-pistons-bulls-rivalry-history-domination.html News on Thomas' wrist surgery: http://articles.latimes.com/1991-01-25/sports/sp-947_1_isiah-thomas Full game, courtesy of Karol K: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzF7d1TAGDY&