2 min read • February 16, 2022
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Celtics point guard and defensive instigator Marcus Smart left Tuesday's blowout win over the 76ers after suffering a lower right leg injury midway through the 2nd quarter.
Based on initial video, Smart appears to suffer a right ankle inversion sprain – the most common basketball sprain – along with a contusion to his knee.
After visible discomfort and the immediate action of the Celtics ruling him out of the game right away, this injury should be a short-term absence for Smart according to our ProBasketballDocs. He will miss tomorrow night's game against the Pistons and return sometime soon after the all-star break, although likely not immediately.
Boston's first contest post all-star is against the new-look Nets on Feb. 24, followed by road bouts in Detroit and Indiana.
The soon-to-be-28-year-old suffered the multi-impact injury with 5:15 left in the 2nd quarter when he ran into Joel Embiid on a drive, rolling his right ankle on Embiid's foot and bumping his knee into Embiid's girthy leg.
Smart drew a foul on the play and after being helped to the sideline, returned to attempt both free throws before leaving the contest. He missed both attempts, but was +19 with 7 points and 1 assists in 13 minutes prior to the injury.
The 8-year veteran is no stranger to ankle injuries, having suffered 3 sprains to his right ankle alone since Oct. 2017. He has missed a total of 2 games among those 3 sprains.
After tonight's win, the Celtics move to 34-25, having won their last 9 games, the longest active winning streak in the NBA.
This article was updated at 8:37 pm on Feb. 15 to recognize new video of the injury reviewed by our team of ProBasketballDocs.
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