The Boston Celtics dropped their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday afternoon, losing 105-92. It was a close game for the first three quarters, but Boston’s offense, led by Jaylen Brown, went ice-cold in the second half. OKC pulled away in the final moments, earning a victory over the reigning champs.
Brown carried the load in the first half, but he didn’t make a shot in the second. In fact, he didn’t register a single stat in the second half outside of his two turnovers. It was a very rough showing for Boston, but the Thunder are one of the hottest teams in the league.
But it was also his first game back on the court in a few days.
Jaylen Brown got an MRI on his shoulder
In the fourth quarter of the Celtics’ 54-point win over the Toronto Raptors on December 31, Brown was seen icing his shoulder on the bench. For the next two games (wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets), Brown was initially listed as questionable and later downgraded to out.
He’s been dealing with a right shoulder strain, and after the loss to Oklahoma City, Brown spoke about the issue.
“I think it was like on the play I was trying to like fire it out, my arm kind of got jammed,” Brown said via Souichi Terada of MassLive. “I went and got an MRI, came back, and had a shoulder strain. I’ve just been doing my treatment and stuff, trying to get back, ready to be on the court.”
Brown also noted that his shoulder felt a bit off against the Thunder, but he wanted to be available for the game.
“It felt good today, a little sticky, but felt good,” Brown said. “This week, just been going through my progressions and definitely wanted to be available for tonight, so it felt good.”
Brown’s return from injury went relatively under the radar during the game because of how significant the contest was as a potential NBA Finals preview.
However, it’s important to note that Brown was just getting back from his injury and may not have been at full strength. Regardless, once a player is on the court, they should be expected to play as such.
Through the first half of the game, Brown looked amazing. But some impressive defensive adjustments by the Thunder took him completely out of the game.
His shoulder issue is definitely something to monitor moving forward.