Boston Celtics star Isaiah Thomas dedicated his stunning, match-winning performance against the Washington Wizards to his late sister Chyna, who was tragically killed in a car accident last month and would have turned 23 on Tuesday.

Thomas racked up a career-high 53 points as the Celtics triumphed 129-119 in overtime to move 2-0 up in their playoff series against the Wizards.

The point guard only played after enduring hours of painful oral surgery to repair three teeth, one of which was knocked out in Game 1.

After the game, Thomas said: "Today is my sister's birthday. She would've been 23 today. So the least I could do was go out there and play for her."

One more point on Tuesday would have seen Thomas - who underwent six hours of dental surgery on Monday and a further four to five on the day of the game - tie John Havlicek's Celtics record for the most points in a playoff game.

"I didn't know I was close to 50," Thomas added.

"I was just so locked in that fourth quarter and overtime because I wanted to win the game so bad that I really didn't know what I had. I just knew that I had to keep being aggressive.

"Yesterday [Monday] was a long six hours and even today I had to go back for about four to five hours. I can't say enough about the Shock Doctor that made my mouth guard, Dr. Meola, and Dr. McKeon they did a hell of a job.

"Today my mouth was so swollen I had to go back to the hospital to get a few meds to get the swelling down because I could barely talk. I knew once game time came my guys would get me going and get me the energy to try and win the game."

Boston coach Brad Stevens said: "I thought he [Thomas] was really gonna have to gut this one out, and he not only guts it out, but he scores over 50."