Jaylen Brown is determined to push through until the NBA All-Star break.
The Boston Celtics wing limped off the floor with under four minutes to play in Tuesday's 116-105 loss to the Houston Rockets and didn't return.
Brown's injury was a concerning sight considering he already was battling injuries to both ankles.
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But the 23-year-old confirmed he suffered a left calf contusion, not an ankle ailment, and hopes to play Thursday against the Los Angeles Clippers, according to NBC Sports Boston's A. Sherrod Blakely.
Brown dropped 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting Tuesday night but admitted he wasn't at full strength entering the game.
"I tried to do my best out there," Brown told reporters, per Blakely. "I definitely wasn’t myself. I didn’t feel like myself out there."
With one game remaining before a seven-day layoff in the All-Star break, it's worth wondering whether the Celtics should just hold Brown out to avoid risking further injury.
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But the fourth-year swingman expressed a desire earlier this week to play through the pain for Boston's two big matchups with Western Conference elites Houston and L.A.
"Two games, we need two big wins,” Brown said Monday. “I’ll just push through it; I’ll be all right."
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