Celtics’ Nikola Vucevic undergoes surgery for broken finger

The Boston Celtics will be without veteran center Nikola Vucevic for a while.

Vucevic underwent surgery Saturday morning to stabilize a fracture in the ring finger on his right shooting hand. The team said he will be reevaluated in three to four weeks.

The injury occurred during Friday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. Vucevic played less than two minutes before leaving with trainers after hurting the finger in the opening quarter. X-rays later confirmed the fracture.

Shams Charania of ESPN reported earlier that Vucevic was expected to miss roughly a month following surgery.

The 35-year-old center joined Boston in a trade last month after spending several seasons with the Chicago Bulls. In 11 games with the Celtics, he averaged 11.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists, shooting 44.5 percent from the field.

Vucevic is playing on an expiring $21.5 million contract and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Originally the 16th pick in the 2011 draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, Vucevic was later traded to the Orlando Magic in the deal that sent Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers.

With Vucevic sidelined, reserve big man Luka Garza is expected to handle much of the backup center minutes for Boston.