What a painful stretch it has been for Isaiah Thomas.

After leading the Boston Celtics to eliminating the Chicago Bulls in their opening-round NBA playoff series on Friday night, the All-Star point guard had to fly out to Washington state for the Saturday funeral of his late sister, Chyna, and then back to Boston to be ready for the opening tip of the Celtics-Washington Wizards series Sunday.

A choked up Thomas delivered an emotional speech during the funeral Saturday.

"When I found out the news, I wanted to give up and quit. And never in my life have I ever thought about quitting," Thomas said at the funeral, as reported by Masslive.com, reading from a cellphone with black shades blocking his tears. "I realized quitting isn't an option. That's the easy way out. I will keep going for my sister, as I know she wouldn't want me to stop. I love you Chyna and I miss you so much. And everything I do for the rest of my life will be for you. I love you girl."

Heartfelt words for his younger sister Chyna, 22, who was killed in a one-vehicle car accident in Washington on April 15, a day before the Celtics' postseason began.

Somehow, Thomas has managed to not only play every game since, but lead the Celtics during the playoffs just as he did all regular season long prior.

After his sister's funeral, Thomas rejoined the Celtics in Boston, where he scored 33 points and dished nine assists to lead his squad to a 123-111 Game 1 win over the Wizards in their second-round playoff series.

Afterward, he spoke about Chyna, saying, "I do everything for my sister now."

IT is one strong person. Continued prayers to him and his family over their loss.

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