Celtics forward Jae Crowder said he did not know how he would be received by Celtics fans on Friday night, two days after criticizing them for cheering for Jazz forward Gordon Hayward.
“I’ve never been through a situation like that,’’ he said.
But Crowder got an answer rather quickly, as he got an ovation that was noticeably louder and longer than usual when he was introduced in the starting lineup prior to the Celtics’ 110-106 win over the 76ers at TD Garden.
“I appreciated it,’’ he said.
The cheers did not give him a boost on the court, however, as he missed all four of his shots and did not score in 30 minutes.
On Wednesday, Crowder made it clear he did not appreciate Boston fans cheering for Hayward, a prospective free agent this summer who plays the same position as him. He said so to reporters after the game, and then continued his rant on Twitter, even engaging with some fans.
Crowder said he received support from his teammates after the incident, but said he regretted expressing his stance on social media.
All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas said he understood Crowder’s emotions but agreed Twitter wasn’t the best place to vent.
“He’s going to feel the way he wants to feel,’’ Thomas said. “He took it personal. There’s things that I take it personal; that’s just what it’s going to be. We know he means well. I thought he should have handled it a little better, not going on Twitter. But other than that, that’s how he felt. We’re 100 percent behind him and it made him play that much better, so it was a motivation for him.
“The only thing I think, he shouldn’t have went to social media, but you live and you learn. We know that he wants to be here and he means a lot to this organization.’’
Charting the stars
The NBA released the first fan voting Thursday for starters in next month’s All-Star Game. In previous years, lopsided margins would have taken the suspense out of the process. But this year, it is more complicated.
For the first time, players and media members will each account for 25 percent of the vote.
The general idea is to make it less of a popularity contest and more of a reward based on merit, and to guard against odd internet campaigns for undeserving players, such as Warriors center Zaza Pachulia, who, despite averaging 5.2 points per game, currently has the second-most votes of any Western Conference frontcourt candidate.
Since players have never voted before, the process is mostly unknown, even to them. So we reached out to the NBA for a little more clarity on the process.
Early next week, each NBA player will receive an e-mail from Ernst & Young that will contain a secure link to their individual and private ballot. Players will then select five starters from each conference — three frontcourt players and two backcourt players.
Thomas, for one, has said he plans to vote for himself and his teammates, and that is allowed.
If many on other teams follow suit, the most important votes will come from cross-conference selections, when players can only pick an opponent. NBA players who are on assignment in the D-League will be allowed to vote, too.
Voting will be open for one week, but it is not mandatory. Players’ individual votes will not be made public afterward, but players will be allowed to share their votes if they wish, just as Thomas has sort of already done.
The league plans to release the standings, just as it does with the fan votes.
The panel of media voters is likely to be released soon. When media members vote for end-of-season awards, their individual votes are made public, but a league spokesman said that would not be the case with All-Star votes.
When all the votes are in, players will be assigned point values based on their standing in each sector of voting.
For example, if Thomas finishes fourth among Eastern Conference guards in the fan vote (50 percent), third in the media vote (25 percent), and second in the players’ vote (25 percent), he would be assigned a score line that reads: 4, 4, 3, 2.
That number would then be added up and divided by four, giving him a score of 3.25. The guards with the two lowest scores will become All-Star starters.
There was some concern that players’ names being misspelled in fan Twitter votes might not be counted, but a league spokesman said the system will account for those mishaps.
Doctor’s orders
Center Tyler Zeller missed Friday’s game and will not play Saturday against the Pelicans, either, as he recovers from a severe sinus infection that cause him to be hospitalized for two nights this week.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens said Zeller did some work on an exercise bike Thursday.
Forward Jordan Mickey was not available Friday, as he is the latest Celtic to be sidelined by a stomach bug.
Avery Bradley missed last Friday’s game against the Heat and Marcus Smart was hospitalized for two days this week.
Lastly, James Young remains out with an ankle sprain.
Pelicans in town
The New Orleans Pelicans arrived in town Friday night, a team spokesman said, ahead of a winter storm, so Saturday night’s game at TD Garden should go on as scheduled . . . The last time the Celtics played games at home on consecutive nights was in April of the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season. Prior to that, they had not done so since October 13-14 1978.
Gary Washburn of the Globe staff contributed. Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach @globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.
