Cavaliers’ Garland, Mobley and Hunter to return for Game 3 vs. Pacers
The Cleveland Cavaliers will get a much-needed boost in Friday’s high-stakes showdown against the Indiana Pacers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will get a much-needed boost in Friday’s high-stakes showdown against the Indiana Pacers.
Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter will all return for a pivotal Game 3 against the Pacers on Friday, the team announced.
All three players missed Wednesday’s Game 2 loss with injuries as Cleveland went down 2-0 in the second-round series.
Garland has missed the Cavaliers’ last four games after suffering a sprained big toe in Game 2 of the team’s first-round series against the Miami Heat. In the two playoff games he has suited up for, Garland averaged 24 points, 2.5 rebounds and seven assists while shooting 51.6 per cent from the field and 41.2 per cent from three-point range.
Meanwhile, Mobley, the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, and Hunter were both injured in a 26-second span in the fourth quarter of Game 1 on Sunday night.
Mobley sprained his left ankle when he was boxed out by Indiana’s Myles Turner and didn’t have room to land after his turnaround hook shot went in. Mobley is averaging 17 points and 7.2 rebounds in the playoffs.
Hunter, averaging 23.8 minutes off the bench in the post-season, dislocated the thumb on his right shooting hand after Bennedict Mathurin blocked his running dunk attempt.
Despite missing all three players, the Cavaliers nearly came away with a win in Game 2, only to lose in the final seconds after a Tyrese Haliburton three-pointer.
–with files from The Associated Press
