Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving left Sunday’s game with a bruised left shoulder, and he’ll be re-evaluated Monday.
Irving was hurt late in the third quarter of Cleveland’s 100-96 loss to the Rapots in Toronto. He ran into the Raptors’ Jonas Valanciunas in the third quarter and went down favoring his left shoulder. Irving took the ensuing two free throws but then left the game for good.
“Any time you lose your best player, it’s going to be a big loss,” Cleveland coach Byron Scott said. “The X-rays were negative, so we’ll see how he is (Monday).”
Irving finished the night with 12 points, four assists and four rebounds. He is averaging 23.2 points, 5.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game.
The 2011-12 NBA Rookie of the Year didn’t want to compare this shoulder injury to a right shoulder injury he suffered last year. However, he did need help pulling on his sweater and socks after the game as a result of the injury.
“It feels like crap,” he said. “I’ve done that play a lot of times, and I’ve never come up feeling like this. I’ll just go back home. Take a few more pictures and see what it feels like (Monday).”