The Cleveland Cavaliers saw a 17-point halftime lead slip away in Friday night’s Game 3 matchup against the Indiana Pacers. As a result, the Cavs are now trailing in the series, 2-1, and it sounds like they could be without the services of George Hill for Sunday’s Game 4 tilt, according to a report from Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal.
Hill, now 31 years of age, logged 23 minutes in Game 3. He scored nine points in the first quarter and finished with 13. However, the crafty ball-handler didn’t play much in the fourth quarter due to a bout of back soreness. As Ridenour reported, the former 26th overall pick (2008) will undergo an MRI scan on Saturday.
Hill’s back has been an issue since Game 1 of this series. While cruising the floor in transition, Hill backed into a screen set by an opposing player. Hill was listed as questionable for Game 2, but he ended up playing, scoring six points and three assists in 20 minutes.
In his 24 appearances with the Cavs during their 2017-18 regular season campaign, Hill racked up averages of 9.4 points on 44.4 percent shooting from the field (35.1 percent from beyond the arc), 2.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 27.9 minutes per.
If Hill is indeed ruled out for Game 4, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue would likely call on veteran Jose Calderon, who did not play in Game 3. Jordan Clarkson could see his minutes increase as well.
Sunday’s Game 4 matchup is set to tip inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse at 8:30 p.m. EST with TNT having live broadcast coverage. Be sure to keep your browsers locked on Cavs Nation for more updates on this topic as they become available.
