They lost star forward Jayson Tatum to an ankle injury on Monday against the Sacramento Kings when he landed on the foot of Domantas Sabonis. They were hoping he wouldn’t miss much time, if any.

However, as they prepare to visit the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday evening, they got some bad news. Tatum will not be able to play due to that ankle injury.

Tatum, their best player, is averaging 27.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists a game this season, and he leads the Celtics in all three of those statistical categories.

Needless to say, if he has to miss an extended stretch, it will hurt their ability to start to play their best basketball heading into the postseason.

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum

John Jones-Imagn Images

Boston has a six-game winning streak and has won 17 of its last 20 games. Overall, it is 21-4 since late January and has a 53-19 record, which is the third-best record in the NBA behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder.