Kyrie Irving leaves Cavs-Bulls Game 6 with knee injury
Already hobbled by a right foot strain and left knee tendinitis, Cleveland Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving suffered a scare in the second quarter of his team’s potentially series-ending Game 6 vs. the Chicago Bulls at the United Center.
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With 9:47 remaining in the second quarter, Irving’s left foot landed awkwardly on the foot of teammate Tristan Thompson. Irving fell to the floor and was helped back to the locker room. Take a look:
The good news was that Irving does not appear to have suffered a major injury. As reported by ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters, Irving had his knee rewrapped and was deemed probable to return. He returned to the Cavs bench minutes later but sat until halftime.
His status was updated after the break, when Salters said that Irving had been downgraded to doubtful due in part to the team’s strong play without him.
Tied at 35-35 at the half, the Cavaliers dominated the rest of the quarter without Irving and closed on a 20-4 run to head to the locker room up 58-44. If the Cavs hold on, they will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2009.
Irving was a relative non-factor early in the series with Chicago due to injuries, but he was a key reason for Cleveland’s pivotal 106-101 Game 5 win. Though limited by his various ailments, Irving scored 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting with five assists.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
