Jae Crowder avoided serious injury in the fall that forced him out of Sunday’s Game 4 loss at TD Garden.
Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald reported Monday morning that the Boston Celtics forward will not require surgery after an MRI revealed only a knee sprain and a bone bruise.
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The Celtics confirmed that Crowder had been diagnosed with an ACL sprain.
Crowder, who suffered the injury after taking a cheap shot to the face from Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith, told The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach on Monday that he expects to be sidelined for just a few weeks.
“It’s a tough way for the season to end and a tough way for myself,” Crowder said. “But I’ll be fine.”
As for the play that caused the injury, Crowder echoed teammate Evan Turner in saying it was out of line — even given the physical nature of the teams’ first-round playoff series, which the Cavs won in four games. Smith said the play was an accident, and that he did not try to injure Crowder.
“If that’s what you’d call physical play,” Crowder told Himmelsbach. “Cheap shots. But it is what it is.”
Crowder, 24, is a restricted free agent. He earned less than a $1 million in salary this season, but became a key cog on a Celtics team that defied expectations in reaching the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
