Kyrie Irving Ruled Out vs. Clippers After Knee Injury Diagnosed as Sprain

Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving has been ruled out for the remainder of Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers after he suffered a right knee sprain, the team announced.

He finished with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting with two assists in 14 minutes at TD Garden.

Irving already missed time this season with a hip injury and played just 60 games during the 2017-18 campaign, his first with the Celtics. In fact, he has never played more than 75 games in a season.

The Duke product is Boston's primary playmaker thanks to his ability to slash through the lane, hit from three-point range and set up teammates when defenders collapse on his penetration.

He entered Saturday averaging 23.8 points, 7.0 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game in 2018-19.

Irving missed Boston's run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season with a knee injury but posted 24.4 points and 5.1 assists per night behind 40.8 percent shooting from three-point range as he helped lead the C's to the No. 2 seed.

The Celtics will likely turn to Terry Rozier at point guard in Irving's absence, much like they did during last season's playoffs. They can also ask Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum to serve in more of a ball-handling role without Irving on the floor.