NBA roundup: Boston’s Jaylen Brown adjusting to wearing mask

Celtics guard Jaylen Brown scored 30 points in his first regular season game wearing a mask to protect a facial fracture. AJ Mast/Associated Press

The mask seems to fit Jaylen Brown pretty well.

Four nights after he debuted the mask in the All-Star Game – where he scored a team-high 35 points for Team LeBron – Brown returned to real action after missing four games before the break, and didn’t look bothered at all by the fitted black mask on his face. Brown scored 30 points in leading the Celtics to a 142-138 overtime victory over the Pacers on Thursday night.

Unlike the All-Star Game, which Brown described as a “glorified layup line” because of the effort it was played with, Thursday’s return was the first time Brown played with the mask on in a full-speed game with contact. He’s still getting comfortable with it, naturally.

“It’s going to take some getting used to,” Brown told reporters in Indiana. “It’s just some things I need to adjust and adapt to, but I will. Today was the first, I would say real game with it on. I think it went fine, but it’s going to definitely take some getting used to and some adjustments and being able to adapt to it, but so far, so good.”

Brown told reporters that he’s expecting to have the mask on for games for 4-6 weeks, and one week has already passed.

“We’re going to be real acquainted with each other after this duration,” Brown said of the mask.

Brown is wearing a mask because he suffered a facial fracture in the Celtics’ win over the 76ers on Feb. 8, when he inadvertently caught an elbow from Jayson Tatum while they were both chasing an offensive rebound. Brown immediately left the game and didn’t return, then missed four consecutive games before the All-Star Game.

While he’s still getting adjusted to the mask, it didn’t affect how he approached Thursday’s game but he’s still getting used to some of the unique nuances of wearing it.

“It’s pretty thick,” Brown said. “Sometimes it gets a little hot on your face, but I felt protected, I didn’t shy away from contact, I didn’t feel like I had to alter my game or anything like that. It gets a little uncomfortable at times, and then sometimes you have to get your head around and make sure you see everything, if somebody is coming from behind or somebody’s in your side view, but just be able to make those adjustments, you have to keep your head up and see the floor.”

TATUM HAD A rough 9-for-25 shooting performance – which included a 2-for-12 start – in Thursday’s win and he joked about a hangover from his All-Star break vacation that contributed to it. But a scary fall early in the game may have also played a factor.

With 2:48 left in the first quarter, Tatum made a strong drive to the basket in transition and was called for a charge as he collided with former teammate Aaron Nesmith. But as he crashed to the floor, he landed on his ailing left wrist. He jumped up immediately to shake it off and stayed in the game.

Tatum suffered a small fracture in his left wrist last season and played through it throughout the Celtics’ run to the NBA Finals. It’s still been lingering this season, and Tatum has taped it for every game. He admitted some fear after Thursday’s fall.

“That was scary,” Tatum told reporters. “They always teach you not to put your hand out, but it was so quick. I jumped up so quick because I was scared, and I was just moving my hand because that’s the one that’s been bothering me for a year now. Falling right on it, I was really just like trying to see if I could open and close it, if I had strength, and it was painful for 5-10 minutes. But I got it looked at. It’s sore, but I’ll be all right.”

Tatum ultimately rounded into form and shot 7-for-14 in the second half, and should be OK for Saturday night’s game against the 76ers in Philadelphia.

“Just iced it, wrap it on the flight and get some rest,” Tatum said.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

KNICKS 115, WIZARDS 109: Julius Randle equaled a career high with 46 points, and New York rallied from a 19-point deficit to win in Washington.

Jalen Brunson broke a 109-all tie with a bank shot in traffic with 42.1 seconds remaining, and the Knicks held on from there in a pulsating matchup between two teams coming out of the All-Star break in the thick of Eastern Conference playoff race — but in far different positions.

HAWKS 136, CAVALIERS 119: Trae Young scored 34 points and host Atlanta beat Cleveland in its first game under interim coach Joe Prunty.

Dejounte Murray had 15 of his 25 points in Atlanta’s high-scoring second period.

BUCKS 128, HEAT 99: Giannis Antetokounmpo left late in the first quarter with a right knee issue to spoil his rapid return from a sprained wrist, but Milwaukee Bucks still trounced Miami for its 13th consecutive victory, in Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo was in the starting lineup just four days after heading to New York to have his right wrist examined. The two-time MVP was on the floor late in the first quarter when he passed the ball and immediately motioned to the bench as the Bucks called a timeout to enable him to head to the locker room.

Bucks officials said in the second quarter that Antetokounmpo had knocked knees with an opponent and wouldn’t return to the game. He had four points, four rebounds and four assists in just six minutes.