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About 90 minutes before the Celtics faced the 76ers in Game 1 of this Eastern Conference semifinal Monday, forward Jaylen Brown was on the phone with members of the team’s medical staff, trying to talk them into letting him play despite his strained right hamstring.
About 30 minutes after that, Brown walked slowly through the locker room wearing Celtics warm-up gear.
Brown’s status was finally decided about 45 minutes before tipoff, when he was ruled out. It was a blow, but his teammates persevered for a 117-101 victory. With Game 2 scheduled for Thursday, the team remains optimistic that Brown will be able to return for that one.
Marcus Smart started in place of the second-year forward on Monday night and contributed 9 points and a game-high nine assists.
“He went through stuff this morning, though they cut him short from going through the whole workout,’’ Celtics coach Brad Stevens said before Brown’s status had been decided. “He feels a lot better because he’s anxious to play, so that’s part of the discussion.’’
Brown, who averaged 17.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in Boston’s first-round series against the Bucks, suffered the injury when he was making a pass to guard Terry Rozier late in the second quarter of his team’s Game 7 victory Saturday. He was later cleared to return, but with the game mostly in hand and the extent of Brown’s injury not fully known, Stevens elected to keep him on the bench.
True colors
Rozier gave one final nod to his mini feud with Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe, arriving for Game 1 wearing a Drew Bledsoe No. 11 Patriots jersey.
If you missed it, after Boston’s victory over the Bucks in Game 1 win, Rozier inadvertently referred to Eric Bledsoe as Drew Bledsoe. When Bledsoe was asked about Rozier after Game 2, he used an expletive as he claimed he did not even know who Rozier was. The two then had a mild dust-up during Game 5, bumping each other several times.
Rozier said “a long-lost friend’’ gave him the Drew Bledsoe jersey after Game 2 of the Bucks series.
“Just had to wait for the right time to wear it,’’ he said Monday.
During Game 7, the Celtics showed a video of Drew Bledsoe in which he referred to himself as “the original Bledsoe,’’ and the TD Garden crowd went wild. Fans serenaded Eric Bledsoe with “Who is Bledsoe?’’ chants throughout the game.
When the game ended, though, Rozier and Bledsoe shared a cordial embrace near midcourt.
Nevertheless, Rozier and Drew Bledsoe will probably now be linked for years to come.
“That’s my guy,’’ said Rozier, who had 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists in Monday’s win. “I’ve never even had a conversation, but that’s my guy. I think he knows who I am and I know who he is.’’
Russell on hand
Celtics legend Bill Russell was in attendance for Monday’s game. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Boston’s Eastern Conference finals win over the 76ers in which Russell and 76ers legend Wilt Chamberlain dueled for seven games.
In that series, the Celtics overcame a 3-1 deficit and Russell had 12 points and 26 rebounds in Boston’s 100-96 win in Game 7. (Chamberlain had 14 points and 36 rebounds in the loss at The Spectrum.)
The Celtics went on to beat the Lakers in the NBA Finals.
Fraternal order
Stevens and 76ers coach Brett Brown made their mutual respect clear. In addition to appreciating each other’s styles and successes, the two have spent a bit of time together away from coaching, too.
“We bump into each other in summer leagues,’’ Brown said. “We go to the gyms with our kids. Last year in Vegas, he and I took our kids into a gym and had some good workouts and spoke a lot since then. I think he’s class. I think he’s a terrific coach and look forward to competing against the Celtics.’’
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach @globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.
