Thomas, Curry and Durant named Players of Month for January

The Boston Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas today was named the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for games played in January, and the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were selected as co-winners of the Western Conference honor.

Thomas led the NBA in scoring (32.9 ppg) and tied for fifth in the East in assists (6.9 apg) for the month as the Celtics went 10-4 to take over first place in the Atlantic Division.

The 5-9 Thomas, who was named an All-Star for the second straight season, shot 49.7 percent from the field, 43.2 percent from three-point range and 94.1 percent from the free throw line. He recorded eight games with at least 30 points, including two with 40 points or more.

Curry ranked fourth in the West in scoring (27.8 ppg) and Durant was fifth (27.4 ppg) as the Warriors posted an NBA-best 12-2 record in January.

Named an All-Star starter for the fourth consecutive season, Curry led all NBA players with 62 three-pointers, averaged 6.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds and shot 47.9 percent from the field and 43.1 percent from three-point range.

Durant, an All-Star selection for the eighth year in a row, was second in the conference in blocks (2.07 bpg) and eighth in field goal percentage (56.5), and he added 7.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.

Other nominees for Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month were Atlanta’s Paul Millsap, Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Houston’s James Harden, Indiana’s Paul George, Miami’s Goran Dragic, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Phoenix’s Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker, Portland’s CJ McCollum, San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard and Toronto’s Kyle Lowry.