BOSTON -- Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas capped his 38-point performance Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets with a left-handed layup after a vicious crossover of Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley.

The never-bashful Thomas could then be seen giving some serious grief to Beverley, who last month dubbed himself the "best defender in the league."

The two were still calmly jawing at each other enough on Boston's next offensive possession that, after Beverley fouled out, a referee stepped between the two to ensure no escalation. At that moment, the TD Garden crowd serenaded Thomas with a loud "MVP!" chant, and Thomas raised his arms to acknowledge the fans.

It's notable that the chant came as Thomas stood within arm's length of guard James Harden. While most everyone agrees that the race for MVP this season is a two-horse sprint between Harden and Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, Thomas decidedly outdueled Harden on this night, lifting Boston to a much-needed victory.

It only cemented the notion that Thomas deserves a spot in the MVP conversation, even if Harden and Westbrook have been so otherworldly this season that everyone is trying to catch them.

On Thursday, Thomas was officially named an All-Star reserve for the Eastern Conference. While the 5-foot-9 Thomas remains certain that he deserved to start this year's midseason exhibition, he's truly grateful to be heading back to the All-Star Game, given all the guard talent in the East.

But he's more than earned his spot. Thomas produced his 15th game of 30 points or more this season during Wednesday's win. He's scored 20 points or more in 29 straight games and 40 of the 41 games he's played this year. Thomas now sits second in the NBA in scoring at 29.1 points per game and has moved a half-point in front of Harden (28.6).

What's more, Thomas isn't just the NBA's leading fourth-quarter scorer, averaging 10.1 points per game in the final frame, he's on pace to become the league's top fourth-quarter scorer since by-quarter tracking started two decades ago. Thomas scored 13 points in the fourth quarter Wednesday against the Rockets.

Celtics fans used to chant "MVP!" at Thomas last season because he was the best player on a team that had made strides toward re-establishing itself as a contender. This season, they chant "MVP!" because he truly deserves it, even if he still pinches himself a bit at the suggestion.

"It’s stuff you dream of as a little kid," Thomas said. "I always say, to be in the Garden and play for the Celtics, and for them to be chanting MVP, it doesn’t seem real. For now, I’m staying in the moment, I’m embracing it. These fans are everything to me."

Thomas is everything to the Celtics. As Boston struggles to re-establish its defensive identity, Thomas has kept the team afloat with his ridiculous offensive exploits. Entering the season, Thomas' career high in scoring was 38 points. He's matched or exceeded that number seven times since late December.

In 11 games for the month of January, Thomas is averaging 32.9 points per game. With three games remaining this month, he has a chance to make a run at forward Paul Pierce's team record for scoring in a month. Pierce averaged 33.5 points per game over 11 games in February 2006 but also played nearly four extra minutes per game.

The knock on Thomas has been that he's a liability on defense. The Celtics do give up 110.4 points with him on the floor, and that number drops to 99.6 when he's on the bench. Boston's team defense has been lacking across the board, however, and it is still giving up 109 points per 100 possessions when center Al Horford is on the floor (though the defensive improvement isn't quite as stark when Horford is on the bench, falling to just 104).

Regardless, what Thomas is doing offensively this season is special. It will be fun to see how he's able to distinguish himself at the All-Star Game, an exhibition clearly geared toward that side of the ball.

Teammates and coaches have run out of superlatives for Thomas. After one postgame media session in December, Celtics coach Brad Stevens joked how Thomas nearly scored 40 points, and his name wasn't even referenced until the sixth question of the chat.

There was virtually no question that Thomas would earn an All-Star reserve spot. Opposing coaches, especially those in the East, have gone out of their way to smother him with praise while talking about his offensive exploits before games with Boston.

"I think his confidence level just continues to grow day by day," said Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek, who coached Thomas during the player's short stint in Phoenix. "I think he feels at this point that nobody can stop him, and that’s what makes him tough. When a guy has that extreme level of confidence, they feel they can do anything. Do one thing, and he adjusts -- some of that’s experience. The more you’re in this league, the more you see everything and things become slow and easy, and that’s where he’s at right now."

Noted Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, "[Thomas is] playing at a high level. The whole league is trying to figure out how to make it a little bit more difficult on him."