Jaylen Brown had not missed a game until the Boston Celtics returned to Spectrum Center for the second of a back-to-back against the Charlotte Hornets, taking the night off due to a left hip flexor strain.

Brown scored 25 points in Boston’s 124-109 win over the Hornets on Friday night, called out ex-teammate Grant Williams for inciting tensions with a stupid foul on Jayson Tatum and continued his cold streak from the 3-point range range – Brown shot 0-for-6 from three. But as Brown revealed, the hip flexor injury is not new and has remained on the 28-year-old’s mind throughout the young campaign.

“I got an MRI during training camp and it’s been back and forth since then,” Brown said Saturday, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. “(Friday) I think I extended it a little bit, and it’s already giving me some problems. I’ll have to get another MRI and go from there.

Other than the absence of Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics have done well through their first six games. Al Horford did not play Friday night, adhering to the 38-year-old’s tax management plan. Sam Hauser missed three games with a lower back injury, leaving it to Payton Pritchard to hold down the fort on the reserve unit. Still, nothing has stopped the Celtics from moving on and performing at the same level as the league’s reigning champions.

Brown, who missed 12 games last season, said he has felt the impact of the lingering injury at several points so far. He averaged 25.7 points with 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists while playing 36 minutes per night.

“I didn’t feel like my legs were underneath me because I was dealing with this hip flexor,” Brown explains, per Washburn. “It affects my explosion and my outburst more. And then, mentally, trying to figure that out too. Thinking about it messes everything up a bit, but I’ll be fine.