OAKLAND, Calif. — Two days after Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas openly questioned coach Brad Stevens’s substitution patterns following a disheartening loss to the Clippers, both he and Stevens made it clear they had quickly moved past Thomas’s minor discontentment.
“I didn’t do it to throw anybody under the bus,’’ Thomas said Wednesday. “I was frustrated. I thought we should have won the last two games, and that’s just how I felt. I was always taught to speak my mind.
“But for the most part, I don’t want to be a distraction. My teammates know that. It’s bigger than how I feel, I guess. I’m trying to move forward.’’
The Celtics lost to the Suns Sunday after allowing 5 points in the final four seconds, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that came after Jae Crowder and Thomas had miscommunication on an inbounds pass. Then on Monday, Boston watched a 13-point third-quarter lead against the Clippers evaporate in an instant.
With forwards Al Horford (elbow) and Jonas Jerebko (illness) sidelined, and other big men in foul trouble, Stevens went to a lineup late in the third period that included Jordan Mickey and James Young. Thomas said after the game that it was too late in the season to be experimenting, and his comments quickly made headlines.
But Stevens said Thomas approached him soon after the story began to spread and he cleared the air.
“I’m not worried about it,’’ Stevens said. “Like I said, I know it’s something to talk about. One of the things I’ve learned in the NBA is that you have 82 games, and so you kind of ride this roller coaster of emotions game to game and everything else.
“But I think you just have to do your best regardless of scenario to move on to what’s next. And again, Isaiah reached out to me really quickly. If it would have been reversed where I would have had to initiate it, I think that may be an issue. But it wasn’t. I didn’t lose any sleep over it.’’
Thomas has voiced his frustrations following tough losses before, and he acknowledged Wednesday he has to do a better job of cooling down when he is upset after a game. And the simplest solution, Thomas said, is to just cut down on the tough losses.
“I’m here to be Isaiah Thomas and lead and win games,’’ he said. “And I know if we win that wouldn’t have even been a problem.’’
Horford was slated to return to the starting lineup on Wednesday night after missing two games with a sprained right elbow. Horford suffered the injury when attempting to block a shot in Boston’s win over the Lakers on Friday.
Horford says he’s ‘fine’
Horford said he was not quite fully healthy, but added that is to be expected at this time of year.
“I think it’s just the way that the season is,’’ he said. “Sometimes you have stuff that’s lingering, but I’m fine. I’m good to play and good to go.’’
Horford entered Wednesday averaging 14 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists this season. When Thomas was asked what Horford’s return would mean, he flashed a wide smile.
“Everything,’’ he said. “Everybody knows what he brings, and we need that.’’
Valuable assist from Curry
Although the competition is probably too stiff to win the award this season, Thomas has at least been mentioned as a most valuable player candidate. On Wednesday, former MVP Stephen Curry of the Warriors was the latest to offer glowing praise of the 5-foot-9-inch point guard.
“He’s been amazing,’’ Curry said. “He’s been really, really clutch, won a lot of games for his team just off of his sheer will and playmaking. He’s taken his game, not to the next level, but to the next level after that and it’s been fun to watch.’’
Loud comparison
Thanks to the Warriors’ remarkable success and an intense fan base, Oracle Arena has become known as one of the toughest venues in the league for opposing teams to play. When Stevens was asked before Wednesday’s game about the environment here, he pointed out that Boston is not exactly a library.
“I’m partial, but we coach in TD Garden 41 times a year,’’ he said. “So Oracle’s a great place to coach; it’s a great environment to play in. Our guys are professional basketball players. They didn’t sign up to play in front of 5,000 people sitting on their hands. I think that ultimately this is what you sign up for. This is part of the fun.’’
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach
