Cavs’ Jarrett Allen exits Thunder clash with knee injury appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have come out of the gates flat in their Wednesday night contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road. They fell behind by 16 points at the halftime intermission, which is quite disappointing considering that they’ve held Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to a rough shooting night thus far.
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Making matters worse, the Cavs will have to proceed with the game all while being shorthanded. With over a minute left in the first quarter, Jarrett Allen appeared to sustain a knee injury after a collision with Thunder guard Jared McCain. And as per ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel, Allen is now doubtful to return to the contest. Mario Hezonja started in his place to begin the second half.
Allen played in just seven minutes before exiting, recording just one rebound and missing his lone field-goal attempt during his time on the court.
The Thunder started a supersized frontcourt of Isaiah Hartenstein and Aday Mara to help combat the Cavs’ twin tower setup, and it will be interesting to see how Allen’s absence for potentially the remainder of the game will affect their rotations. Evan Mobley will have his work cut out for him, as he now has the task to anchor the paint for the Cavs on both ends of the court.
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Thomas Bryant could also see some extended run, but at the time of writing, he’s only played in five minutes for Kenny Atkinson. The more likely recourse for the Cavs is to continue deploying a lineup with Mobley at the five to try and mount a comeback against this pesky Thunder team.
The Cavs had cut the Thunder’s lead to just single digits to start the third quarter, but OKC has since brought it back to a comfortable advantage. There is still time for Cleveland to come back, as more than a quarter of basketball remains on the night.
It remains unclear to this point just how severe Allen’s injury is and if he will need to miss extended time.
Related: Cavs vs. Thunder injury report: Alex Caruso, Peyton Watson highlight notable updates
Related: Thunder vs. Cavs injury report: Alex Caruso still out, Peyton Watson listed
