Jaylen Brown did not play in the Celtics win on Saturday with a knee contusion. Charles Krupa/Associated Press
The Celtics were without three key players – Al Horford, Malcolm Brogdon and Jaylen Brown – in their 117-108 win over Detroit on Saturday. Horford hasn’t played in the second game of a back-to-back all season and Brogdon is day-to-day because of right hamstring tightness.
Brown was a late scratch after he was initially listed as questionable on the injury report because of a left knee contusion. Brown was downgraded to out pregame as the Celtics elected to be cautious with the 26-year-old.
“His knee just didn’t react from a 24-hour period, less than 24 hours,” Celtics Coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “So we just thought of what’s best in the long-term is to have him rehab that and hopefully he’ll be ready Monday.”
Boston hosts Oklahoma City on Monday. Considering the Thunder are not contenders, the Celtics could be conservative with Brown. Boston should have Horford back and Brogdon could also make his return after missing the past two games.
Brown suffered the contusion when he took a hard fall in Friday’s win over the Nuggets. He played the rest of the game, and his postgame comments made it sound like it’s not a serious issue going forward.
“I’m alright,” Brown said Friday. “I had the doctor take a look at my knee. I rolled my ankle last game too. So just a little bit banged up, but I’ll be fine.”
SUNDAY’S GAMES
76ERS 105, JAZZ 98: Joel Embiid scored a career-high 59 points, had 11 rebounds and eight assists to carry Philadelphia over visiting Utah.
Embiid also blocked seven shots and has clearly rounded back into form over the last week after recovering from an illness. The reigning NBA scoring champion dropped 42 points a night earlier in a win against Atlanta.
Malik Beasley scored 18 points for the Jazz.
THUNDER 145, KNICKS 135: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points, Josh Giddey had a triple-double and Oklahoma City shot a season-high 62.5% from the field in a win in New York.
Giddey had 24 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who picked up their fifth straight victory at Madison Square Garden. Giddey joined Wilt Chamberlain (1968) as the only other player in NBA history to record triple-doubles during their first two games at MSG.
Lu Dort also had 24 points for Oklahoma City and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl added 17.
Six Knicks scored in double figures, led by Cam Reddish, who had a season-high 26 points. Julius Randle had 25 and Immanuel Quickley chipped in 24.
WIZARDS 102, GRIZZLIES 92: Kristaps Porzingis scored 25 points and Deni Avdija added 21 to lead host Washington to its fourth straight victory,.
The Wizards swept a weekend back-to-back against Utah and Memphis, two of the Western Conference’s top teams in the early going this season. Washington did that without Bradley Beal, who is still getting back into playing shape after going through health and safety protocols.
Memphis was missing key players as well, with Ja Morant out because of left ankle soreness and Desmond Bane unavailable because of right toe soreness.
TIMBERWOLVES 129, CAVALIERS 124: D’Angelo Russell had season highs of 30 points and 12 assists, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 29 points, and visiting Minnesota held off short-handed Cleveland.
All-Star point guard Darius Garland scored 27 of his 51 points – and made six of his career-best 10 3-pointers – in the fourth quarter for the Cavaliers, who trailed 99-75 late in the third.
The Cavaliers, who lost their fourth in a row, played without injured All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen. Mitchell was sidelined with a sprained right ankle, while Allen sat out with a sore left ankle.
NUGGETS 126, BULLS 103: Michael Porter Jr. scored a season-high 31 points and Nikola Jokic had 14 assists as Denver won at Chicago.
Porter made 11 of 16 shots, including six from 3-point range, as the Nuggets won for the fifth time in their last six games.
Zach LaVine scored 21 points to lead the Bulls, who have lost 4 of 5.
NOTES
NETS: Kyrie Irving’s return from suspension is still unknown, with Coach Jacque Vaughn saying he had no update on the guard.
Irving was suspended by the Nets for a minimum of five games on Nov. 3 for refusing to say he had no antisemitic beliefs, and the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday was the sixth he missed.
“I’m just going to continue to go day-by-day, push this group and coach these dudes today,” Vaughn said.
The Nets said Irving would not return until he satisfied “a series of objective remedial measures.”
Irving has since apologized on social media for posting a link for a film that contains antisemitic material on his Twitter page, and for not specifying the topics in it with which he disagreed.
Irving took to social media again on Sunday and posted: “I was not put here on earth to participate in any religious/political wars or incite racial disharmony/prejudice within communities. We are all equal under the sun and I am here to participate in the building of an Equal world and follow the Word from the Most High/GOD/YAH.”
Nets owner Joe Tsai and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver have both said in recent days they met with Irving and don’t believe he is antisemitic.
The Nets’ next game is on Tuesday in Sacramento before they finish up their trip on Thursday in Portland. Brooklyn has won 4 of 5 since Irving was suspended.
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