Aron Baynes led the Boston Celtics with 12 rebounds and finished with a double-double (11 points) in a 117-97 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday.
However, Baynes left the game early after a scare midway through the fourth quarter:
However, Boston’s center did not leave for the locker room. Brad Stevens told reporters in Indiana that Baynes felt he was good to go back in.
He told me he was fine. He told me he could go back in, but he’s lied on several occasions throughout his career, so I don’t know. I guess he’s fine. We may just change the adjective: he’s Baynes.
With the postseason only a few games away and Baynes’ stock continuously to climbing, Stevens has no desire to push the envelope. Especially in 20-point wins against the team you’re going to play in the opening round of the postseason.
He’s done a really good job [of late] and he took a bunch of hits that I thought positioned himself to make a miss or has a chance to be charges. I think that he’s just a really tough guy and he holds down the for. And we’re going to need him to be really good. So if he’s got any bruises at all, we’re going to need to address that.
