During the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 122-102 victory over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, big man Tristan Thompson suffered a thumb injury and did not travel with the team to Boston for a marquee matchup against the Celtics on Wednesday.
MRI confirms injury
After undergoing an MRI Wednesday morning, it has been confirmed that Thompson has suffered a sprained thumb and will miss at least the next two games. He suffered the injury in the third quarter of the game last night but was able to play through it after taping up his thumb. He had X-rays at Quicken Loans Arena that were negative.
Thompson’s streak ends
Unfortunately with Thompson missing Wednesday’s outing against the Celtics, his streak of 447 consecutive games played will come to an end, which was the longest active streak in the NBA. Thompson’s streak was also the longest in Cavaliers history, and the last time he missed a game was February 10, 2012. That’s over five years without missing a game, incredible.
Matchup against Boston
While Tristan Thompson is out for the game, the Celtics may also be without a key player. Swingman Jae Crowder is considered a game-time decision with an injured elbow. He had an MRI on the elbow Monday, which came back negative. Crowder said that his elbow is “sore” and sat out Tuesday’s practice.
Other than Crowder and Thompson, there are no other injuries for both teams. Kyle Korver returned to action Tuesday night against the Magic after missing a few games with a sore foot. Being that it is the second night of a back-to-back for Cleveland, Tyronn Lue will not rest any of his superstars either since this is an important game.
The contest is a battle for first place in the East, as the Cavaliers and Celtics both have identical records of 50-27. The season series between the two is 2-1 in favor of Cleveland. Boston won the last game, 103-99, which was on March 1st at TD Garden. Wednesday’s game will be televised nationally on ESPN, and tipoff is at 8 pm Eastern Time. It should be a very entertaining game from start to finish.
