BOSTON -- The pump fake at the 3-point line sent James Ennis skidding past, but as Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas took his first steps toward the paint, the Memphis Grizzlies duo of Marc Gasol and Tony Allen started to close on Thomas like elevator doors. That's a former Defensive Player of the Year coming from one side and a perennial All-Defense presence from the other, but Thomas slipped between the two, muscled through Allen's attempt to slow him down, and continued on his path to the basket.

Grizzlies forward JaMychal Green shuffled over as the last line of defense, but before he could even get to Thomas, the 5-foot-9 All-Star sent a left-handed rainbow at the basket. Thomas drew contact after release and the ball eventually fell gently through the cylinder, touching only the bottom of the net on the way down.

It's becoming a familiar sequence for Thomas, the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week, and this particular episode was one of the easier finishes he's displayed lately. While his 21-point output in Tuesday's 113-103 win over Memphis was tepid by his recent standards, it was Thomas' 16th consecutive game with 20 points or more, the longest streak in the NBA this season.

In fact, Thomas has failed to reach 20 points just one time this season, when an abbreviated second-half stint stalled him at 18 points during a loss to the Golden State Warriors. Thomas had scored 20 or more points in Boston's first 11 games before that mid-November defeat.

After Thomas torched his Grizzlies for a career-high 44 points a week earlier, Memphis coach David Fizdale was asked before Tuesday's game about the best way to defend him.

"I don’t know. You got any suggestions?" he asked reporters with a laugh. "Tackle him."

Added Fizdale: "He is one of the most dynamic offensive players in this league. He carries a big chip. I don't see size when it comes to him. He plays a lot bigger than he is. And I truly consider him a great player. I don’t know how to guard him."

On Thursday night, Thomas takes his scoring talents to Cleveland, where the Celtics visit the East-leading Cavaliers for a national TV battle. Boston, finally healthy after a rash of early-season injuries, has won six of its past seven games, and Thursday's tilt might offer a better indication of where exactly the Celtics stand in relation to the defending champs.

Isaiah Thomas' 30 points weren't enough as the Celtics lost to LeBron James & Co. in their first trip to Cleveland this season. Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports

Thomas downplayed the measuring-stick hype leading up to the Cleveland game, suggesting it's simply the next game on Boston's schedule. Given the Celtics' taxing, travel-heavy December, he's not the only Boston player to contend that this is simply the last of 10 road games this month.

"We don’t really care about what they’re doing and I know they don’t care about what we’re doing," Thomas said. "We’re just trying to focus on us and getting better each and every day. We’ve done that the past seven games. With a healthy squad, we’re a pretty good team."

When the Celtics visited Cleveland on Nov. 3, they were without Al Horford (concussion) and Jae Crowder (ankle). Boston trotted out a starting lineup that included Tyler Zeller and rookie Jaylen Brown, two players who combined for a total of 16 total minutes in Boston's two victories this week. The absences diminished any early-season hype around that first meeting, and Cleveland controlled the game more than the 128-122 final score might suggest.

With their preferred starting lineup of Thomas, Avery Bradley, Crowder, Horford and Amir Johnson, the Celtics are 13-4 this season. The Celtics have seemingly shifted to another gear since Thomas returned from a four-game absence due to a groin injury in mid-December. Boston's only loss in the past seven games came when Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook outdueled Thomas in the fourth quarter of a thriller at TD Garden last week.

Horford, who has happily ceded the spotlight to Thomas while quietly making the Celtics a better team whenever he's on the floor, showered the Cavaliers with praise.

"I think [Thursday's game will] definitely be good for us to play against probably the best team in the league right now," Horford said. "It’ll just be good for us to get out there and play. Now we’re healthy, so that’s encouraging, and it’ll be good for us."

Horford acknowledged that Boston has come a long way from the team that started the season 3-4 and improbably sat in the basement of the league in defensive rating. Boston owns a defensive rating of 102.3 while compiling a 16-9 record since Nov. 11, and that mark ranks fifth overall in the league in that span.

Two victories over the Grizzlies, including an overtime thriller on the road, and a Christmas Day win in New York have given the Celtics the sort of signature triumphs they previously lacked. But the Cavaliers are a whole different beast.

Downplay it as they might, it's clear the Celtics are intrigued to find out where they stand. And this isn't just another opponent.

For Horford, this Cavaliers team knocked his Atlanta Hawks out of the playoffs the previous two seasons. For Thomas, Cleveland bottled him up in the 2015 playoffs while sweeping Boston in the opening round. The Celtics know that if they are to accomplish their loftiest goals this season, it would mean seeing this Cavaliers team in the playoffs.

As Boston starts to generate some national buzz, particularly given Thomas' scoring exploits, it seems important for the Celtics to show well Thursday night. This is the final of 10 road games this month, but the schedule eases into the new calendar year. Boston will play 10 of its next 13 games at home, starting with Friday's visit from the Miami Heat.

BOSTON CELTICS Check out the team site for more game coverage CLEVELAND CAVALIERS Check out the team site for more game coverage

There's a real chance for Boston to build some momentum here. It's also a chance to show the rest of the league that those early-season struggles were not indicative of Boston's true potential. It's an opportunity for Horford and Thomas to make a pitch for All-Star consideration on the national stage.

Over Boston's past seven games, Thomas is averaging 29 points on 48.5 percent shooting overall while adding 6.4 assists over 33.4 minutes per game. The NBA's player-tracking data suggest Thomas' assists are generating 15.4 points per game, meaning Thomas is accounting for roughly 44.4 points per game in that span. Thomas is second in the league in drives per game overall (13.9) but seems to have found a nice balance between trying to finish in traffic and finding cutting teammates when defenses collapse on him.

"It just impresses me every game. He’s just relentless, relentless on going to the basket, and him finding creative ways to finish, it really surprises me," Horford said. "I don’t know how he does it. You’ve got to give him a lot of credit, because for his size the things that he does, guys my size can’t do that. And he just manages somehow to finish."

Added Horford: "He’s putting a lot of pressure on the basket, time after time. He really does a good job of, even if he gets blocked a couple times, he’ll still take it in. He’s at the point now, he’s making reads on when to go score and when to kick the ball out. That’s basically, he’s putting it all together."