Isaiah Thomas: ‘I promise you I’ll be back better’

9:30 PM ET

WALTHAM, Mass. — The day after the Boston Celtics’ 2015-16 season ended with a Game 6 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, Isaiah Thomas remained emotional about the team’s early postseason exit.

“Man, it still hurts,” said Thomas, who had visibly red eyes after becoming emotional in the locker room following the season-ending loss. “It’s tough for me. [Thursday] night was very tough just because I gave it my all. I never worked that hard in my life. Make plays and score and do everything I could for my team to win and it wasn’t enough, so it was tough.”

Thomas reaffirmed his appreciation for this year’s team — suggesting again that it’s the best team he’s ever been a part of — but also renewed his call for the Celtics to add the sort of impact talent that can vault the team to true contender status.

“You can’t do it on your own,” Thomas said when asked about what the playoffs taught him. “That’s probably the biggest thing I learned. There’s no way you can do it on your own. From the first guy that picked up a basketball to 2016, nobody can do it on their own. And just how hard it really is to win playoff games when you’re in a playoff series. It’s not easy.

Isaiah Thomas renewed his call for the Celtics to add impact talent that can vault the team to true contender status. David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images

“I’m going to do whatever it takes to not have this feeling again because it really hurt me. I’m going to use that as motivation to continue to get better and work on my flaws and make those into my strengths. I promise you I’ll be back better.”

Thomas produced a pair of monster efforts while helping Boston win Games 3 and 4. That included a dazzling 42-point performance in Game 3. He entered Game 5 as the leading scorer in the playoffs, but the Hawks increased their attention on him — swarming him each time he touched the ball — and Thomas scored a mere …

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