Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown delivered an impressive 37-point performance in Friday night’s 123-116 loss to the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.
This marked his highest-scoring game since December 27, when he dropped 44 points against the Indiana Pacers.
His teammate, four-time All-NBA First Team forward Jayson Tatum, put up a dominant stat line with 46 points, 16 rebounds, and nine assists. However, their combined efforts weren’t enough to secure a win over Cleveland.
Brown is coming off a remarkable postseason, where he earned both Eastern Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP honors.
This season, he has played 50 games and is the Celtics’ second-leading scorer behind Tatum, averaging 23.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game.
Following his 34-minute outing against the Cavaliers, Brown has now appeared on the injury report ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets.
He is listed as questionable due to right knee pain, joining Jrue Holiday (doubtful, right-hand mallet finger) and Kristaps Porzingis (doubtful, non-COVID illness) on Boston’s injury list.
Brown has missed ten games this season, and the Celtics are hoping he’ll be available for the showdown against Denver and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic. In 17 career games against the Nuggets, Brown has averaged 19.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists, according to StatMuse.
Boston has already secured one win over Denver this season, defeating them 118-106 on January 7. Jokic did not play in that game due to illness but is not listed on the injury report for Sunday’s rematch at TD Garden. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. ET.
