Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving has been ruled out of Friday's meeting with the Indiana Pacers after a magnetic resonance imaging exam revealed a left shoulder strain.
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It's not clear precisely when Irving suffered the injury, but he did begin favoring his shoulder after this drive with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter of Thursday night's nationally televised matchup with the Golden State Warriors:
Irving seemed to move more gingerly and look less active immediately after that possession, during which he sparred with defenders Shaun Livingston and Draymond Green before losing the ball out of bounds. He stayed in the game for another couple of minutes before exiting for reserve Matthew Dellavedova at the 1:07 mark of the third.
After a trip back to the locker room to get checked out, Irving returned to the bench and, later, to the game with 8:32 remaining in the fourth quarter to help the Cavs close out their impressive 110-99 win over the West-leading Dubs. Irving finished with 24 points on 6-for-17 shooting and a 10-for-10 mark at the foul line to go with three rebounds, two steals and an assist in 38 minutes of work.
"It's a little sore right now," Irving said after the game, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. "Obviously it's uncomfortable. We'll see how it feels tomorrow and go from there."
After the MRI came up less-than-rosy, Irving didn't travel with the Cavs to Indiana on Friday. He will be re-evaluated before Sunday's game against the Houston Rockets, according to the team. He's considered day-to-day, as are we all.
Frank Vogel's Pacers, then, catch a little bit of a break — another one for them, as Jared Wade noted at 8 Points, 9 Seconds — in the absence of Irving. The No. 1 pick in the 2011 NBA draft has averaged 19.4 points and five assists against Indiana in nine career meetings and had a pair of strong outings — 24 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in November, 29 points, five assists and four rebounds just three weeks ago — against the Pacers earlier this season. Then again, they still have to face a very scary version of LeBron James with their own shorthanded crew. Not exactly a light evening's work, with or without Uncle Drew.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
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