Cleveland Cavaliers All-Stars Evan Mobley and Darius Garland and reserve De’Andre Hunter have been ruled out for Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the visiting Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night.
All three were listed as questionable for the second of the best-of-seven series. Reserve guard Ty Jerome and forward Dean Wade started for the top-seeded Cavaliers, who dropped Game 1 to fourth-seeded Indiana 121-112 on Sunday.
Garland is missing his fourth straight playoff game due to a left toe injury, while Mobley is sidelined by a sprained left ankle and Hunter by a sprained right thumb. Garland scored 27 and 21 points in the first two games of the playoffs against the Miami Heat before suffering the toe injury.
Mobley has shined for Cleveland all season, becoming the first player in team history to win Defensive Player of the Year. After a 20-point, 10-rebound performance in Game 1, Mobley is averaging 17.0 points and 7.2 boards this postseason.
Hunter, meanwhile, has played a key role off the bench for the Cavs, scoring 12.6 points per game in the playoffs.
Mobley and Hunter were injured during consecutive fourth-quarter possessions on Sunday. After Mobley landed awkwardly following a jumper, Hunter drove to the rim before falling hard to the floor as his shot was blocked by Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin.
Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said Monday that while those plays were not dirty, “I think it passed a line of physicality.”
He later added: “But the fact of the matter, that’s on the referees. Maybe they weren’t missed calls, and maybe I’m misinterpreting the rules, but I have a problem when we got two of our best players doubtful for tomorrow’s game. It’s hard for me to get my head around that.”
–Field Level Media
