NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas, the NBA’s number two scorer, will miss his team’s two-game road trip with a bone bruise in his right knee, the club announced Thursday.
Thomas, who scored 27 points in Boston’s 117-104 victory Wednesday over Minnesota, is averaging a career-best 29.2 points, second only to Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook with 31.8 points a game.
The 28-year-old playmaker, in his sixth NBA campaign, is also averaging 6.0 assists and 2.6 rebounds for the Celtics, who went 1-3 without him in December when he was sidelined by a groin strain.
The Celtics will face two of their weaker rivals without Thomas, visiting the league-worst Brooklyn Nets (12-54) on Friday before playing at Philadelphia (24-43) on Sunday.
Boston then returns home for a Monday showdown against Washington. The Celtics (43-25) are second in the Eastern Conference, just ahead of Washington (41-26) and just behind the pace-setting defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers (44-22).
© Agence France-Presse