Crowder solid in return from ankle sprain but Celtics lose to Blazers

The Boston Celtics were whole Thursday night for the first time in nearly three weeks.

Swingman Jae Crowder returned from a high right ankle sprain, and was back in the starting lineup against the Portland Trail Blazers.

It wasn't enough to topple the Blazers, who won 116-109, but Crowder looked strong in his return. He moved well laterally, got up to contest shots, got his hands in passing lanes, and helped pester Portland's guards into rough shooting nights. He finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and two steals, and aside from his outside jumper looking a bit rusty, he showed no ill-effects of the injury.

Crowder had missed the previous eight games with the injury, and Boston dearly missed his off-the-catch attacking and dogged perimeter defense. They went 4-4 without him, but three of those wins came against bottom-10 opponents, and the other came against a Toronto Raptors team without its best player. Their defensive rating is a middling 104.4 since he suffered the injury, compared to a sterling 100.1 mark before then.

For the season, Crowder has posted career bests in virtually every meaningful category, including points (14.4), rebounds (5.1), assists (1.9), steals (1.8), field-goal percentage (45), and 3-point percentage (34.8). The Celtics have been 4.8 points per 100 possessions worse when he's not on the floor.