Celtics Brown Basketball

Celtics guard Jaylen Brown clutches his left cheek after colliding with Jayson Tatum during their game on Wednesday. Brown will not play Friday with a facial fracture. Charles Krupa/Associated Press

BOSTON — Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens said Friday he doesn’t anticipate All-Star Jaylen Brown missing a significant amount of time after suffering a broken bone in his face.

Stevens said Brown has been fitted with a mask. Brown was diagnosed with a maxillary fracture after he took an inadvertent elbow from Jayson Tatum on Wednesday while going for a rebound during Boston’s win over Philadelphia.

Brown was sitting Friday night with Boston hosting Charlotte and will be evaluated over the next few days. That will determine how long he will be sidelined.

“He’s still feeling it. It doesn’t feel great. We’ll see how he feels when he starts moving around,” Stevens said. “Then we’ll get together early in the week and kind of figure out what’s next. But it doesn’t look like it’s going to be too long, which is a good thing.”

Stevens also said point guard Marcus Smart, who will miss his ninth straight game Friday with a sprained right ankle, continues to get closer to a return but still is experiencing pain.

Boston (36-16) entered Friday with the best record in the the NBA.

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ALL-STARS: Toronto forward Pascal Siakam, Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards and Sacramento guard De’Aaron Fox have been added to the player pool for the All-Star Game as injury replacements.

Commissioner Adam Silver’s office announced the picks Friday, after they were first reported by ESPN.

Siakam, Edwards and Fox replace Golden State’s Stephen Curry, New Orleans’ Zion Williamson and Phoenix’s Kevin Durant – all of whom are injured and will be unable to play in the Feb. 19 game at Salt Lake City.

It’s the second All-Star selection for Siakam, and the first for Edwards and Fox.

Curry, Williamson and Durant were all selected as starters for the game. Those starting spots will now go to Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Utah’s Lauri Markkanen and Memphis’ Ja Morant, the NBA said.

All-Star starters are chosen in a weighted vote that takes into account fan, media and player balloting. All-Star reserves are chosen by NBA coaches. Injury replacements are selected by Silver.

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The rosters for the game will be chosen by captains LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks shortly before tip-off. This is the sixth year that the NBA has used the captain-draft format for the game, but the first time that those selections will be made on game day.

NETS: Guard Cam Thomas was fined $40,000 by the NBA for using derogatory and disparaging language during a live television interview.

Thomas was being interviewed along with Spencer Dinwiddie on TNT after the Nets’ 116-105 victory over Chicago on Thursday night. He was asked about Dinwiddie’s joke that he and Dorian Finney-Smith, who came together from Dallas in the trade for Kyrie Irving, helped make the Nets a better-looking team.

Thomas laughingly responded with a gay slur.

TRAIL BLAZERS: General Manager Joe Cronin said the team was confident Gary Payton II was healthy before agreeing to trade him to Golden State in a four-team deal that could be at risk.

The Athletic reported that Payton had failed Golden State’s physical on Friday. The Warriors can either allow the trade to go through anyway, or rescind it.

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Cronin said he was aware of the report but hadn’t been contacted by the Warriors, Hawks or Pistons, who were also in the deal.

BUCKS: Cleveland Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam are taking another shot at the NBA.

Looking to expand their professional sports portfolio outside of Ohio, the Haslams are in talks to buy a minority stake in the Milwaukee Bucks, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The Haslams have explored buying other pro teams, including the Minnesota Timberwolves in the past, and now are seeking the 25% share currently held by Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

There is no timeline for an agreement or sale, the person said. Sportico was first to report the Haslam Sports Group’s interest in the Bucks.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

76ERS 119, KNICKS 108: Tyrese Maxey provided a huge boost off the bench, scoring 27 points to help Philadelphia rally from a 13-point deficit for a win over visiting New York.

Joel Embiid had 35 points and 11 rebounds on 14-of-18 shooting from the floor, while James Harden added 20 points and 12 assists to help the Sixers gain a measure of revenge for a loss in New York on Sunday night when Philadelphia relinquished a 21-point lead.

Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson both scored 30 points for the Knicks.


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