Jaylen Brown will not suit up Friday night against the Sacramento Kings as he nurses multiple lower body injuries.
The Celtics ruled the All-Star wing out with what the team called left hamstring soreness and a right knee contusion. It’s the fourth DNP of the season for Brown, who initially was listed as doubtful.
Joe Mazzulla’s squad will get another member of its starting lineup back Friday night, as center Neemias Queta was upgraded to available after missing Wednesday’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks with an illness.
Brown was a season-worst minus-24 in 29 minutes against Atlanta, finishing with 21 points on 9-of-20 shooting (0-of-5 from 3-point range), seven rebounds, three assists and three turnovers. He was critical of his performance after the game, saying he did not play “to (his) standard.”
“The team feeds off of my energy, so being a leader, I’ve got to be better,” Brown said. “Tonight, I just didn’t have it. … It’s the part of the year where it gets tough physically, mentally. You’ve just got to find ways to inspire and spark your team to come out and get a victory.”
Boston is 2-1 without Brown this season, beating the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors and losing by two to the Indiana Pacers.
The only other Celtics player ruled out for Friday’s Kings matchup at TD Garden was Jayson Tatum, who has yet to debut this season as he works his way back from Achilles surgery.
Sacramento will be missing three key pieces: big man Domantas Sabonis (knee), forward Keegan Murray (ankle) and guard Russell Westbrook (foot). Sabonis pulled down 28 rebounds when the Kings visited TD Garden last season.
