By Shams Charania, Joe Varden and Jason Lloyd
Cleveland Cavaliers starting forward Evan Mobley could be headed for another extended injury layoff, this time with a sprained left ankle suffered in Tuesday’s improbable win over the Boston Celtics, multiple league sources said. The athletics.
Mobley will have to wait for an official timeline until his significant swelling goes down, but one source said it would be “some time” and another said he would be “out for some time.”
Mobley’s injury-clinching dunk with 5:29 left in the third quarter helped the Cavs beat the Celtics 105-104, overcoming a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Mobley’s teammate Sam Merrill returned to the locker room after Mobley turned his ankle and fouled the Cavs to eject him. Mobley left the Rockets’ Mortgage Fieldhouse with crutches, and has been ruled out for the team’s game Wednesday night in Atlanta.
Mobley, an All-NBA guard who is averaging 15.6 points and 10.2 rebounds this season, missed six weeks from mid-December to late January due to minor knee surgery. In Tuesday’s win, his replacement, Dean Wade, scored 20 of his 23 points during Cleveland’s furious fourth-quarter comeback.
The Cavs are three-fifths of their usual starting lineup this week with Mobley playing without starters Donovan Mitchell (left knee) and Max Struss (right knee).
Cleveland enters tonight’s game a half game behind Milwaukee in second place in the East.
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(Photo: Ken Blaise / USA Today)