Boston wing Jaylen Brown suffered a right ankle sprain in the first quarter of the Celtics’ game against the Hawks on Tuesday.
Brown was driving to the basket with 9:15 to play in the first quarter when he went down and immediately grabbed his right leg. The 25-year-old lost control of the ball and stayed down until Boston called a timeout. He immediately went to the locker room, and the Celtics subsequently announced that the injury was a sprain. Brown did not return to the game.
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Despite Brown’s absence, the Celtics picked up an 107-98 victory against the Hawks. In the postgame news conference, Boston head coach Ime Udoka said Brown “rolled his ankle” but wanted to reenter the game. However, Udoka decided it was best for the one-time All-Star to remain off the court with the plan to ensure Brown is healthy going forward.
“Rolled it,” Udoka said. “Got some swelling and soreness, obviously. He tried to give it a go in the back and wanted to come back out and play. We just decided big picture, where we’re at in the season and be smart. So we’ll know more over the next few days.”
An update on Brown’s status will take place on Wednesday before Boston faces a red-hot Grizzlies team at home on Thursday.
Heading into the All-Star break, Boston was on a roll with much of its success behind the play of Brown and Jayson Tatum. Brown, who entered Tuesday’s game averaging 23.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game through 49 contests, finished the game with two points, one assist in three minutes of action.
Brown missed time earlier this season when he suffered an hamstring strain, causing him to miss 13 games in November and December. In all games where he did not play, Boston is just 7–7 this season.
With the win, Boston (37-27) sits sixth in the Eastern Conference standings and a half game behind the Cavaliers for fifth spot.
