Kemba Walker downplays neck injury after win over Mavs

Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker feels fine now but that doesn’t guarantee he’ll suit up for the team’s next game.

[jwplayer 3HtLuIdB-z6KDnl0B]

Characterizing a neck injury that kept him out of the final two minutes and 42 seconds of Monday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks as “a stinger” when speaking to reporters postgame (per NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg), Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker appeared unconcerned about the long-term effects of what Celtics head coach Brad Stevens would describe as whiplash.

Walker sustained the (apparently minor) injury after getting cut off by a defending Luka Doncic. He scored 10 of his team-high 29 in the final quarter, knocking down a flurry of threes after entering the second half with just five points.

The Celtics would win, 116-106.

Though Walker feels fine, there’s still a possibility that he misses the team’s next game — which will take place on Wednesday against the Washington Wizards — if he feels stiffness, discomfort or pain in his neck on Tuesday.

That said, the team will already be playing without one of their best players in Gordon Hayward for multiple weeks as he recovers from hand surgery, so keeping their top-end talent as healthy as possible in the meantime will be key to them remaining on a roll.