Celtics' Irving to miss game due to thigh contusion

Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving will not play on the second night of back-to-back games, as the team announced that he will miss Wednesday night's game at Sacramento with a left thigh contusion. After struggling since the All-Star break, the Celtics were impressive Tuesday night in a 128-95 blowout victory at Golden State. Irving played 20 minutes against the Warriors, scoring 19 points.

Tuesday's game was the start of a four-game California swing for the Celtics, who emerged out of the break with five defeats in six games. The Celtics have a game scheduled against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, followed by one against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. Irving, 26, is averaging 23.4 points with a career-best 7.0 assists this season. He has missed nine games since Jan. 2 because of various nagging injuries.