Baylor Scheierman wouldn’t let a broken thumb keep him out of Sunday’s Celtics-76ers game.

The second-year wing fractured the thumb on his left hand in a collision with Brooklyn guard Egor Demin during Friday night’s 148-111 win over the Nets. He remained in the game, finishing with 10 points and six assists in 22 minutes, and though Boston initially listed him as questionable for Sunday, the team upgraded him to available before tipoff at TD Garden.

“I mean, I just ran into (Demin),” Scheierman explained. “He was running the other way. I thought he was going to just chase after the ball because it was up in the air, and I think my thumb just kind of went into his chest. It just hurt. I looked down, it just kind of felt weird and just locked. I was able to kind of unlock it and get it loose again, and then taped it up and just finished the game.”

Scheierman, who shoots left-handed, wore a splint Sunday to protect the injured digit. That was a new experience for the 25-year-old. Scheierman said he broke the same thumb in a different spot when he was in high school, but that injury required immediate surgery.

“So I’ve never really played with (a splint),” he said. “But I got some shots in this morning and this afternoon, and I feel ready to go.”

A look at the splint Baylor Scheierman is wearing on his fractured left thumb tonight. He’s a lefty, so that’s his shooting hand. pic.twitter.com/1fcAy63wr3

— Zack Cox (@zm_cox) March 1, 2026

Asked whether the Celtics consider the injury a pain tolerance issue that will heal without surgery, Scheierman replied: “We’re kind of just evaluating it as it goes.”

“But I feel good enough to be out there, so that’s kind of how it’s going to be,” he added. “I’m not going to sit out.”

A deep reserve as a rookie who saw his playing time fluctuate for the first three months of this season, Scheierman has played some of the best basketball of his young career since moving full-time into Boston’s starting lineup in early February. Over his last 10 games entering Sunday, he averaged 8.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists, while drawing high praise for his much-improved defense.

Since Jan. 28, the Celtics have outscored opponents by 116 points with Scheierman on the floor, second-best on the team behind Derrick White’s plus-166. His net rating during that stretch (plus-18.0) ranks third on the team behind Neemias Queta and White.

“He’s great,” Sam Hauser said. “He kind of does a little bit of everything, sort of a Swiss Army knife. He’s been playing really well. Early in the year, it was kind of up and down whether he was going to play a lot or not, and he got thrown into the starting lineup and has made the most of it, for sure. It’s awesome to see another guy kind of work his way into rotation and have consistent minutes and play well.

“When you get a moment like that, you just want to make the most of it and do the best you can, and he’s done a really good job of that.”

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Tatum watch

Despite speculation that Jayson Tatum could make his season debut Sunday against Philadelphia — a game that was pushed back two hours to 8 p.m. and flexed into the marquee slot on NBC — the Celtics ruled their rehabbing superstar out for the 60th consecutive contest.

Tatum is, by all accounts, close to a comeback from Achilles surgery, but his exact timeline remains unclear. He said months ago that his first game back would be at TD Garden, so don’t expect to see him in uniform Monday when the Celtics visit Milwaukee on the second night of a back-to-back.

His next opportunity to return will be Wednesday night, when Boston hosts the Charlotte Hornets. The Celtics have another home game Friday against the Dallas Mavericks before beginning a challenging three-game road trip through Cleveland, San Antonio and Oklahoma City.

The 76ers also were missing their top-billed star Sunday night. Former NBA MVP Joel Embiid sat out the game with a right oblique strain. Paul George remained sidelined, as well, amid a 25-game suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug policy.

Tonje signs two-way

With his 10-day contract expired, the Celtics on Sunday re-signed rookie guard John Tonje to a two-way contract.

Acquired from Utah last month in the Chris Boucher trade, Tonje began his Boston tenure on a two-way deal, then had it converted to a 10-day to help the Celtics reach the NBA-mandated minimum of 14 standard-contract players.

The 24-year-old Wisconsin product made two garbage-time appearances, scoring his first NBA points in Friday’s blowout win over Brooklyn. Tonje started for the Maine Celtics on Sunday in their G League game against the Windy City Bulls.

The Celtics did not immediately re-sign veteran guard Dalano Banton, who also reached the end date of his 10-day contract on Saturday. Per NBA rules, the Celtics are allowed to roster fewer than 14 players for up to 14 additional days this season, and they’ll likely do so to avoid eclipsing the league’s luxury tax threshold.

Boston currently has 12 standard-contract players — including Tatum, who has been on the roster all season despite not playing — and three two-ways: Tonje, wing Ron Harper Jr. and rookie point guard Max Shulga.

Off the rim

Sunday was a busy day for Amari Williams, Tonje and Shulga. After starting Maine’s game in Portland, which tipped off at noon, the trio made it back to Boston in time for Sunday’s NBA tilt on Causeway Street. Williams, who drove down, said he arrived at TD Garden around 6 p.m., thankfully avoiding any major traffic. … Thanks to Sunday’s flex, the Celtics will have an even quicker turnaround before Monday’s matchup with the Bucks, which starts at 6:30 p.m. local time (7:30 p.m. ET). Asked whether he’ll sit any regulars for that game, head coach Joe Mazzulla said he was first focused on beating the Sixers, who took two of the team’s first three meetings early this season. “Honestly, any time we’ve ever been in a situation like that, I’m really just only focused on this one,” he said.