Joe Johnson’s ‘fun’ Celtics moment late in game vs. Cavaliers caps off ‘surreal’ journey back to NBA

BOSTON — It’s been 20 years since Joe Johnson made an NBA debut, but he still knows how to score in isolation.

Johnson, who earned the nickname “Iso Joe” for his scoring prowess in those situations over the course of his long and decorated NBA career, scored the final points of Boston’s 111-101 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in fitting fashion: by burying an isolation jumper over the outstretched arm of Cavaliers forward Justin Anderson.

“We know what he is,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said. “Everybody said it as they walked in [the locker room]: ‘Joe’s a bucket.’ That’s what he is and he’s always been, and so that’s not gonna change.”

The shot wrapped up what had been a wild 24 hours or so for Johnson, who at 40 years old became the second-oldest player in the NBA — behind Miami Heat big man Udonis Haslem — and is the only current NBA player who played against Michael Jordan.

He also, by returning to the Celtics almost 20 years after the team that took him 10th overall in the 2001 NBA Draft traded him away a few months into his rookie year, set a new record for time between games with the same team, as his 19 years and 308 days between appearances shatters the previous record of 14 years and 331 days, which was set by Lakers center James Edwards.

“It’s amazing to be back here 20 years later,” Johnson said. “It’s still surreal to me.”

Johnson is one of many players who has gotten an opportunity to return to the NBA over the past week as the league has been ravaged by the Omicron variant of COVID-19. With so many teams being severely depleted by players testing positive for the virus, the NBA has relaxed the rules governing signing replacement players via hardship waivers to ensure teams have enough bodies to play.

Johnson, 40, has been back in his hometown of Little Rock, Ark., working out with his 14-year-old son, who is playing high school ball there, wondering if he was going to get another shot at playing in an NBA game. Since…