Stevens: No surgery expected for Jaylen Brown after facial fracture

BOSTON (AP) —Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens saidFriday he doesn’t anticipate All-Star Jaylen Brown missing asignificant amount of time after suffering a broken bone in hisface.

Stevens saidBrown has been fitted with a mask. Brown was diagnosed with amaxillary fracture after he took an inadvertent elbow from JaysonTatum on Wednesday while going for a rebound during Boston’s winover Philadelphia.

Brown wassitting Friday night with Boston hosting Charlotte and will beevaluated over the next few days. That will determine how long hewill be sidelined.

“He’s stillfeeling it. It doesn’t feel great. We’ll see how he feels when hestarts moving around,” Stevens said. “Then we’ll get together earlyin the week and kind of figure out what’s next. But it doesn’t looklike it’s going to be too long, which is a good thing.”

Stevens alsosaid point guard Marcus Smart, who will miss his ninth straightgame Friday with a sprained right ankle, continues to get closer toa return but still is experiencing pain.

Boston(36-16) entered Friday with the best record in the the NBA.