BOSTON — The Boston Celtics said point guard Kyrie Irving will miss three to six weeks after surgery on his left knee.

Irving had a “minimally invasive” procedure to remove a wire that had been placed in his knee during surgery to repair his broken kneecap from the 2015 NBA finals. The team said Saturday that Irving’s kneecap is fully healed and structurally sound, but the tension wire was irritating his tendon.

The Celtics have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. The playoffs begin April 14 – three weeks away. The longer estimate for his return means Irving would not be able to come back until the second round.

If Irving needs six weeks, that would mean the Celtics – a team that has been dealing with injury issues since the first quarter of the first game of the season, when Gordon Hayward was lost for the year – would need to get through the entire first round without their best player.

“It’s tough when you lose anybody, especially multiple guys,” Boston’s Jayson Tatum told Celtics.com. “We’re just going to have to try to figure it out and figure out how to win games.”

WARRIORS: Stephen Curry suffered a Grade 2 sprain of his left MCL on Friday night.

Advertisement

The Warriors said Curry will be evaluated again in three weeks.

“It could be a lot worse,” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr told reporters just before Curry’s MRI results were revealed. “You think about some of the other guys in the league that have suffered injuries this year. Gordon Hayward is the first one that comes to mind. This is not a major injury. The timing’s not ideal but we can overcome this.

“Steph can be back this year. … Just got to hold down the fort and understand this is all part of the journey.”

SATURDAY’S GAMES

76ERS 120, TIMBERWOLVES 108: Ben Simmons had a triple-double, Joel Embiid dazzled while getting the better of Karl-Anthony Towns, and Philadelphia won at home to inch closer to its first playoff berth in six years.

PISTONS 117, BULLS 95: Anthony Tolliver scored 25 points and Detroit made 13 3-pointers in the first half at home.

Advertisement

MAGIC 105, SUNS 99: Aaron Gordon had 29 points and 11 rebounds to help Orlando hold on at home.

ROCKETS 114, PELICANS 91: James Harden scored 27 points in three quarters and Houston won at home for its eighth straight victory.

LAKERS 100, GRIZZLIES 93: Kyle Kuzma scored 15 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and had 10 rebounds, and Los Angeles overcame a slow start at Memphis, Tennessee.

FRIDAY’S GAME

CELTICS 105, TRAIL BLAZERS 100: Marcus Morris scored 30 points and short-handed Boston dealt host Portland its second straight loss following a 13-game winning streak.

Terry Rozier added 16 points for the Celtics, who are second in the Eastern Conference behind Toronto but have had to deal with recent injuries to Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart.

The Blazers led by as many as 12 points in the third quarter, but rookie Jayson Tatum’s layup and Morris’ 3-pointer gave the Celtics a 101-96 lead with 54.8 seconds to go, and Tatum’s dunk extended the lead to 103-98.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.