Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland had his left hand wrapped in ice while he was sitting in the locker room after a 1-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs, according to a Tuesday tweet from Cleveland.com Cavs reporter Chris Fedor.
Darius Garland said he doesn’t know when the hand injury happened, but it bothered him at some point in the first quarter, Fedor continued.
Garland fell hard on the Rocket Mortgage Arena floor one minute into the game as he tried driving past forward Isaiah Roby and guard Tre Jones, catching his fall with his left and right hands as he dove to save a tipped ball. He managed to get up before center Jarrett Allen stole the ball right back, parking himself in the left corner as forward Lamar Stevens brought the ball back up the court.
Garland finished the game with 18 points while hitting 31.8% of his 22 shot attempts. He missed his first four shots before finally hitting a turnaround jumper as he caught guard Josh Richardson in the air.
Darius Garland has not missed a Cavs game since he was ruled out of an early-November matchup against the Detroit Pistons with a knee injury. He played what guard Donovan Mitchell called his “first real game” of the season after missing five games with an eye injury, earning some early praise from his All-Star teammate after he scored 29 points and dished 12 assists against the top team in the Eastern Conference.
Mitchell and forward Kevin Love returned to play against the Spurs after they were both listed as questionable with injuries of their own. Mitchell avoided the chance at missing his third straight game with right lower leg soreness, while Love returned from lower back soreness.
The Cavaliers will tip off against the Dallas Mavericks at 9 p.m. EST on Wednesday in the American Airlines Center. The game will be broadcasted on Bally Sports Ohio.