Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas attended a gala with idol Allen Iverson in August and emerged with a prized possession: An autographed jersey that Iverson personalized by inscribing, "To a real killa." In the aftermath of the meeting, an awestruck Thomas sat in his Philadelphia hotel room and marveled at Iverson's career averages, then promised to elevate his own play this season with a goal of proving his first All-Star selection was no fluke last year.

Spectacular throughout the 2016-17 season, Thomas put together his finest outing of the season on Tuesday night as he posted a career-high 44 points on a mere 16 field goal attempts and willed the Celtics to a thrilling 112-109 overtime triumph over the super-clutch Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum.

"I'm a killa, I'm a killa," a seemingly perspiration-free Thomas said during an on-court interview with Comcast SportsNet. "My team needed me to score, my team needed me to make plays. They got me open, Coach [Brad Stevens] put me in position to be successful, and I just took it from there."

The 5-foot-9 Thomas scored 24 points over the final 17 minutes of Tuesday's game. He essentially took 14 shots of 15 feet or more -- nine free throws and five 3-pointers -- and did not miss (his only two misfires in that span were attempts near the rim).

In scoring 44 points on just 16 field goal attempts, Thomas became only the fourth player in the past three decades to display such efficiency, according to Basketball-Reference. In the past 50 years, the only Celtics guard to score more points in a regular-season game than Thomas was the man who traded for him, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

Thomas finished 10-of-16 shooting overall while making 7 of 10 3-pointers and all 17 of his free throws. He added six assists over 38 minutes, 17 seconds and turned the ball over just once.

Thomas was on the bench late in the third quarter when, after Boston's starters had whittled a 17-point deficit as low as four, the Grizzlies responded by pushing their lead back to nine before the end of the frame. Only recently has Stevens started playing Thomas at the start of fourth quarter and Thomas simply refused to let this game get away. Thomas scored nine points in the first 1:57 of the fourth quarter then fed Amir Johnson for a layup that made it a one-possession game. A Thomas 3-pointer with 7:52 to play in regulation tied the game and set up a thrilling finish in which Thomas dueled with Memphis guard Mike Conley.

Boston nearly won it at the end of regulation but Al Horford's putback of his own miss came after the fourth-quarter buzzer. In overtime, Thomas -- with defenders swarming his every move -- assisted on Boston's first two field goals (jumpers from Jae Crowder and Horford) then hit a 3-pointer -- for his 40th point of the night -- to put Boston up four with three minutes to go.

For the season, Thomas is now averaging a career-best 26.6 points over 33.3 minutes per game. Thomas is seventh in the NBA in scoring -- sitting ahead of a group that includes Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry -- and second in the Eastern Conference behind only Toronto's DeMar DeRozan (27.9). Zoom in closer and Thomas ranks third in the league in fourth-quarter scoring, averaging 8.1 points per game in that frame. He sits behind only Portland's Damian Lillard (8.2) and Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (9.8), two players that log more fourth-quarter minutes than Thomas. What's more, the Celtics own an absurd fourth-quarter offensive rating of 124.5 when Thomas is on the floor (and his fourth-quarter usage rate of 41.5 percent is third behind only Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins at 42.3 percent and Westbrook at 52.2).

But Thomas' jersey number reflects his favorite quarter. After Tuesday's win, Stevens said of Thomas, "He makes big [shots]. And he likes to take big ones."

Despite his individual success this season, Thomas has been frustrated that it hasn't translated to team victories. Boston has now won three straight to shuffle to 16-12 overall. The Celtics sit third in the East but have nine teams lingering within four games behind them. Boston had struggled to close out wins over quality opponents this season, dropping recent heartbreakers to the Rockets, Thunder and Spurs. Tuesday's win came over a Grizzlies team that started the year 12-0 in games in which the score was within one possession in the final minute.

"[The Grizzlies] were punking us in the first half," Thomas said during his on-court interview with CSN. "This might turn the season around [for Boston], for real."

Yes, this was Boston's first signature win of the season. After a bumpy start in part due to a road-heavy schedule early in the season, you can see the Celtics starting to look more like the team that has made second-half surges in each of the past two seasons. The Celtics rank in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive rating over the past 20 games.

Even in an East loaded with talented guards, Thomas has positioned himself again for All-Star consideration. Al Horford has been excellent but his quiet nature allows Thomas to remain the face of the franchise.

And as this killa's fourth-quarter performances show, Thomas loves that spotlight.