BOSTON — Jared Sullinger‘s right knee was under pressure a little more than usual on Friday night, but the Celtics forward had a solution to make sure the bone bruise would not keep him from suiting up for the second leg of Boston’s back-to-back set on Saturday.
“That’s why God created ice,” Sullinger said. “Ice, ice baby, according to that song. So that’s what I’m going to do all night.”
The Vanilla Ice-quoting second-year forward dropped a career-high 26 points, but it was not enough to prevent the Celtics from losing to the Portland Trail Blazers 109-96. After missing the previous game Wednesday against the Bobcats, Sullinger logged a team-high 36 minutes on Friday, tacking on eight rebounds and two assists to go along with his career scoring night. A quick turnaround puts the Celtics in Minnesota on Saturday, when they will face the Timberwolves’ menacing front line of Kevin Love and Nikola Pekovic.
Although he is still trying to get back in shape following back surgery earlier this year, Sullinger said he was not discouraged by the knee issue, which has the team watching him on a day-to-day basis. His conditioning still needs to improve, he said, but he is not waiting to get to 100 percent.
“That’s the life of an athlete,” Sullinger said. “When one injury happens, another happens and you’ve just got to keep going. You’ve got to keep pushing — and use ice, all the time.”
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