Isaiah Thomas returned to the Boston Celtics' lineup on Wednesday night, but admitted that he is far from 100 percent.

Thomas, who the Celtics acquired at the trade deadline last month, missed eight games after taking a hard fall against the Miami Heat on March 9. Thomas suffered bruising on his back and elbow when Dwyane Wade tried to block a shot attempt in a Miami victory.

“I’m alright. I’m as good as I’m going to be,” Thomas said. “Not 100 percent, but I’ll work through it.”

Thomas, who was averaging 21.4 points, 5.4 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 10 games for Boston, initially didn’t think he’d miss any time, but he sat out March 11 against the Memphis Grizzlies and the bruising lingered.

“It’s been tough, but it’s out of my control. My body just responded like it did. I didn’t think it would, nobody through it would,” he said of the severity of the injury. “I couldn’t control it, so I just had to get treatment two times a day and just be patient. It was tough, but I’m just glad I’m back around again.”

The Celtics went 5-3 in his absence, improving their position in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Thomas has never played in the postseason, but he’s determined to be a part of Boston’s run down the stretch.

“It’s improved. It’s not where I want it to be, but I’m able to play. It’s improved a lot from that day it happened and the day after. It’s still going to be a process. If I was going to try to be 100 percent I probably wouldn’t play the rest of the year,” Thomas admitted.

The concern for a player like Thomas, who attacks the basket regularly and absorbs a lot of contact to his 5-foot-9 frame, is that he’ll aggravate the injury. Despite his size, he leads the Celtics in free throw attempts per game (7.4) by a very wide margin. Brandon Bass is second on the club at just 2.4 attempts. 

Well aware of the physical nature of the game, Thomas revealed prior to Wednesday night’s game against the Heat that he’s concerned about taking another fall on the court.

“My thing is about falling, I’m scared to fall again,” he said.

Brad Stevens said Thomas wouldn’t play under a minute’s restriction, but that the coach planned to keep an eye on his pain level and stamina. Tuesday was the first time the guard as able to “get up-and-down” and the practice left him fatigued.

“It’s just my movement,” Thomas said. “The bruise -- if I showed you the picture if would be nasty -- it one of the worst bruises I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t sleep; I couldn’t sit down for three or four days after. It was horrible.”

It’s ironic that Thomas returned against the Heat, but Wade (knee) didn’t suit up in the rematch. He had no problem with Wade trying to make a defensive play earlier this month, but did take exception to some of his actions.

“It is what it is. The only thing I didn’t like about it was how he looked at me after. You can’t control that. He tried to block the shot. The only thing about when I watched the film was how he look at me after, but hopefully we’ll get the win.”

Thomas may not be 100 percent as the regular season winds down, but the 26-year-old will feel a lot better once his first trip to the playoffs rolls around.