Rockets’ Sterling Brown expected to make full recovery after suffering facial lacerations in assault

Rockets guard Sterling Brown suffered facial lacerations during a Sunday night assault, the team announced Monday.

Brown was jumped outside of a Miami club and hit in the head with a bottle, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. The 26-year-old had “no prior knowledge of or interaction with the assailants,” the Rockets said in a statement released prior to their Monday night game against the Heat. Brown is expected to make a full recovery.

“I have spoken to him, and he’s doing better,” Houston coach Stephen Silas said during his pregame media availability. “The statement pretty much explains everything, so I’m not really gonna get into too much about it, but I did speak to him. Thankfully, he’s gonna be OK. … It’s heart-wrenching. Rips your heart out. It’s one of your guys, someone on your team that you care about, someone that you’re with every day.

“So yeah, as far as how I’m feeling and how the team is feeling, we’re all just thankful, number one, that he’s gonna be OK, but also down about what happened.

The Rockets noted in their statement that Brown would not be available for Monday’s game because of a previous knee injury.

In his first season with Houston, Brown has averaged 8.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in 51 games. He signed a one-year deal with the Rockets in November after spending the previous three seasons with the Bucks.

Last year, Brown settled a lawsuit that he had filed against the city of Milwaukee in June 2018 stemming from an incident in which he accused police officers of targeting him for being Black and using excessive force when they tased him. When body camera footage of the incident was released, the city’s police department apologized to Brown and said the officers involved were disciplined for acting inappropriately.

After rejecting an original offer of a $400,000 settlement in 2019, Brown reached a $750,000 settlement with the city in November.

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