Isaiah Thomas is shooting his way back to form with the Lakers

Isaiah Thomas put up 29 points off the bench in the Lakers’ 131-113 win over the Heat on Thursday. He shot 11-of-20 from the field and 6-of-11 from three. Thomas made shots he had missed all season. More importantly, he looked like a player who is rejuvenated in the second chapter of his seventh season in the NBA.

Thomas’s outburst marked the most he’s scored in a game this season. It also could be a sign I.T. could be returning to form in the latter stretch of the NBA schedule.

Thomas hasn’t had the best go at the whole basketball thing over the past few months. Last season, he injured his hip in a regular-season game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He played through the injury all the way into the playoffs, when his sister passed away the day before the opening game of the first round.

Then Thomas had his front tooth knocked out in Boston’s second-round series against the Wizards. Finally, he re-injured his hip running into a Kevin Love screen in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

To add insult to injury, after a masterful season where Thomas averaged 28.9 points per game and led the Celtics to a deep playoff run, Boston traded him — injury and all — as part of a package to the Cavaliers for Kyrie Irving. He missed seven months of action and never regained his full form in a Cavs jersey, so they traded Thomas, among others, to the Lakers.

If Thomas’s play against the Heat is a sign of things to come, he might be shooting himself into a new contract. After all, he was on a ridiculously team-friendly four-year, $27 million contract when he exploded for the Celtics last season. Now in the final year of that contract, his salary this season is only $6.2 million.

Thomas had been due for a massive pay raise this upcoming summer, but his value took a beating as he shot his way back into game shape in Cleveland. His stock just might be rising in Los Angeles in the second half of the season.

In Thomas’s first game with the Lakers, he scored 22 points on 58-percent shooting. In his last four games, he’s averaging 19 points. He’s still finding his rhythm from the floor. Playing for the Lakers gives him an opportunity to do so.

The Lakers are big players in the upcoming NBA free agency and are expected to clear enough cap space to sign two max (or near-max) players. Paul George to Los Angeles rumors have persisted, as have LeBron James to the Lakers rumors, but if LA strikes out on the biggest fish, they could re-sign Thomas to a one-year balloon deal similar to the one they gave to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (one-year, $17.7 million).

Thomas still has to prove he can play at a level close to where he was with the Celtics a season ago. There were two plays down the stretch that blemished an otherwise perfect night: a travel and a thrown-away pass. The Lakers held a double-digit lead when he committed those turnovers. He can’t make those plays in tight games.

Still, Thomas’ night against the Heat was a good start. Good things will happen for him if he can build on it.