Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving collapsed to the floor in the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday after getting tangled up with Marco Belinelli.
He ended up finishing the game, but afterwards Celtics coach Brad Stevens revealed that Irving suffered a scratched cornea and the injury will require antibiotics going forward. At the time, it wasn't clear whether or not it would affect Irving's availability for the Celtics moving forward, but the team has now announced he won't play on Wednesday night against the Timberwolves.
Furthermore, during an appearance on a Boston radio station on Wednesday, Stevens noted that Irving may miss additional time. "The right eye was the initial concern and the left eye showed some inflammation today," Stevens said. Irving will be re-evaluated on Thursday.
On the play, Irving missed a three and began to run towards the rim in an attempt to secure the rebound. However, once he attempted to run by Belinelli, Belinelli ended up scratching Irving in his left eye and Irving immediately was seen on the floor in pain. "He smacked the s--- out of me," Irving said after the game. "He just caught me pretty good."
Irving ended up leaving the game with 7:22 remaining, but did return for the final 4:37 in which he scored two points. The Celtics guard finished the contest with 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting while also dishing out eight assists, securing three rebounds, and recording a pair of steals in the 120-111 loss. Irving was one of five Celtics that finished in double figures with Jaylen Brown leading the way with 30 points.
The Celtics guard has only missed two games throughout the 2018-19 season thus far. Irving is averaging 23.1 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.9 rebounds while shooting nearly 41 percent from beyond the arc this season.
