(AP) Onyeka Okongwu suffered a dental fracture when he was elbowed in the mouth in Atlanta’s last game, and will be out at least for the Hawks’ matchup with the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.<\/p>\n
Okongwu was elbowed by Celtics guard Jaylen Brown as Brown possessed the ball in the fourth quarter of\u00a0a 117-106 Hawks’ win<\/a>\u00a0on Wednesday night. Brown was called for a flagrant foul. A bloodied Okongwu returned for a foul shot before exiting the game.<\/p>\n Okongwu was missing at least one tooth as a result. After the game, Brown said the contact was unintentional.<\/p>\n \u201cJust being aggressive like I always am. Just a basketball play, it’s unfortunate,\u201d Brown said. \u201cOkongwu’s a good player, and I know from my own experience with a fractured face and chipped teeth. … It wasn’t intentional, and I know it’s going to be a long day at the dentist for him, so hopefully he has a good recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n Brown sustained a maxillary facial fracture two seasons ago after\u00a0colliding with<\/a>\u00a0teammate Jayson Tatum while reaching for an offensive rebound. He returned to the court wearing a protective mask following a four-game absence.<\/p>\n Hawks coach Quin Snyder commented on Okongwu’s injury after the game.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s tough,” Snyder said. “It\u2019s a good thing that dentistry is a profession. I don\u2019t know what he\u2019s going to need. He\u2019s pretty banged up. He took quite a shot. So I told him he\u2019s still handsome, but it\u2019s a good thing that people can repair his teeth, because he\u2019s going to need some work.\u201d<\/p>\n Okongwu finished the game with 17 points and six rebounds. He shot 6 of 12 from the field and 2 of 6 from 3-point range. Not long after the buzzer, Okongwu applauded his team’s win and shared an image of the injury on his Instagram story. The Hawks also posted a\u00a0video<\/a>\u00a0on social media of Okongwu celebrating in the locker room while clutching his mouth.<\/p>\n