Celtics’ star Kyrie Irving ruled out against Kings due to left thigh contusion

The Boston Celtics announced that star point guard Kyrie Irving would not play in Wednesday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings due to a left thigh contusion.

The Celtics (39-26) added Irving to their injury report shortly after 2:30 p.m., less than five hours before their game against Sacramento at Golden 1 Center. His absence could be good news for the Kings (32-31), who were three games out of the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff race going into the game.

Irving posted 19 points and 11 assists in 30 minutes in a 128-95 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night in Oakland. The Celtics had lost seven of their last 10 games and five of six since the All-Star break before beating the Warriors.

Irving, a six-time All-Star, is averaging 23.4 points and 7.0 assists this season. He has missed 11 games due to a variety of nagging injuries. Terry Rozier, who averages 8.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists, was expected to start in his place.

This story was originally published March 6, 2019 at 3:10 PM.