BOSTON -- Celtics All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving hinted that he'll opt for extended rest in hopes of combating the left knee soreness that forced him out of Sunday's 99-97 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Irving, who missed a game last week after knee soreness initially flared, did not return for the second half of Sunday's game. Boston, already playing without All-Star big man Al Horford (illness) and Jaylen Brown (concussion), watched a 12-point lead evaporate as Indiana rallied for the win.

"I think [rest] will probably be the best thing, just instead of kind of hoping it gets better over the two or three days that it usually does," Irving said. "It's aching a little bit more than I wanted it to now, so I'm taking the necessary time."

Irving noted that, with more than a month before the start of the playoffs, he isn't overly concerned about the balky knee. The Celtics are firmly entrenched in the No. 2 spot, now trailing the Raptors by 3.5 games (though two head-to-head matchups remain) and sitting 7 games ahead of the surging Pacers.

"I'm not concerned. Where we are in the season, I'm pretty comfortable," Irving said. "I think that, competitively, I think that's more or less what I'm concerned about. When I actually do get back on the floor, I want to feel the level I expect myself to be at and I want to play at and being able to sustain it. Right now, I'm not able to do that. I just got to do that."

Irving said his knee started aching in Houston, and it bothered him for much of Boston's loss to the Rockets on March 3. Irving sat out two nights later in Chicago but was back on the floor for Boston's win in Minnesota on Thursday.

When the knee started aching again on Sunday, Irving and the training staff elected to exercise caution.