BOSTON — Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown has a broken bone in his face, the team confirmed on Thursday in an injury update that did not specify how long he will be out.
The Celtics said Brown will miss Friday night’s game against Charlotte but provided no further details. It’s unclear how long Brown will be out with the Celtics four games away from the All-Star break.
Brown left Wednesday’s game against Philadelphia after colliding with Jayson Tatum under the basket when they were both going for an offensive rebound.
Brown appeared to take Tatum’s elbow in the left side of his head. He went to the floor and was slow to get up; when he did, he went straight to the locker room, rubbing his left eye and cheek.
After the game, Coach Joe Mazzulla said he had no more information, but guard Malcolm Brogdon said Brown appeared to be in pain when he left.
Brown was recently named an Eastern Conference reserve for the All-Star Game. He’s averaging 26.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game this season.
TRADE: The Celtics have agreed to trade forward Justin Jackson and a pair of future second-round draft picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder for big man Mike Muscala, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
The move bolsters the front court for Boston, which currently has the best record in the NBA, but is looking for backup for Robert Williams and Al Horford. Williams had knee surgery in the offseason and the 36-year-old Horford has dealt with injuries in his 16th NBA season.
In Muscala, the Celtics get a 6-foot-11 forward/center who had stints with the Atlanta Hawks, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers before joining the Thunder. The 31-year-old averaged 6.2 points and 3.1 rebounds for Oklahoma City this season. His best season, 2020-21, he averaged 9.7 points and 3.8 rebounds for the Thunder.
Muscala had two of his best games this season in the last few days. On Feb. 4, he matched a season-high with 19 points and made five 3-pointers in a win over the Houston Rockets. And on Tuesday, he scored 16 points and made four 3-pointers in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers – the night LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league’s career scoring leader.
Jackson, 27, is on a one-year contract and has appeared in 23 games this season for Boston, averaging. 0.9 points and 0.7 rebounds per game. He also had stints with Sacramento, Dallas, Milwaukee and Phoenix.
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