Dallas Mavericks guard Monta Ellis is playing in Sunday's game against the Boston Celtics despite a mild hamstring strain suffered Friday night.
The status of Ellis, one of only two Mavs to play every game this season, was not determined until less than an hour before tipoff. He pushed to play after a Saturday morning MRI revealed that his hamstring strain wasn't serious.
Ellis suffered the injury late in the fourth quarter of the Mavs' 103-81 win Friday night against the Utah Jazz. He underwent an MRI on Saturday morning to determine the severity of the strain and traveled with the team in the afternoon.
Ellis has emerged as an explosive scoring sidekick for Dirk Nowitzki after signing a three-year, $25 million deal with Dallas this summer. He ranks 21st in the league in scoring with 19.5 points per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the floor and averaging a team-high 5.8 assists. He leads the team in minutes at 36.5 per game.
