Kyrie Irving reveals foot injury as poor shooting dooms Cavaliers

Jeff Zillgitt | USA TODAY Sports

CHICAGO — The basic statistics for LeBron James in Game 3 against the Chicago Bulls looked good: 27 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds.

But just like his performance in the Cleveland Cavaliers' Game 1 loss to the Bulls in their Eastern Conference semifinal series, it was not an efficient performance. He was 8-for-25 from the field, including 1-for-7 on three-pointers, and had seven of Cleveland's 12 turnovers in the Bulls' 99-96 victory.

Kyrie Irving scored just 11 points on 3-for-13 shooting, and it was revealed after the game that Irving is playing with what the team calls a strained right foot, an injury Irving said he noticed in Game 2 of Cleveland's first-round series against the Boston Celtics.

Irving underwent tests within the past week.

"I have been trying to get treatment since then," Irving said. "I just have to stay ready to play. There are no excuses. And I have to play through it. ... Tonight, I'm not hanging my head nor using a bad foot as an excuse."

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It's a fact that injuries are piling up for the Cavaliers. Kevin Love is out for the rest of the season with a dislocated shoulder, Iman Shumpert, who started again, has a strained left groin, and now it's been disclosed that Irving has a bad foot.

"I'm staying out there for my brothers," Irving said. "I can be a decoy, set screens and do whatever I can to help us win. I just have to get treatment and come out and play."

James and Irving were a combined 11-for-38 from the field while the rest of the team shot 47.7%. J.R. Smith returned from a two-game suspension and had 14 points. Smith, who came off the bench, alleviated any concern that a long layoff since the end of the Celtics series might hurt his shot. He made 4-of-8 three-pointers, including one that tied the score at 91-91 with 2:24 left in the fourth and one that tied the score at 96-96 with 10 seconds left.

"They just made one more play than us," James said. "We played as hard as we could tonight to get a win. That's all you can ask."

It was a physical game, and the refs let a lot of contact go, especially in the first half. James and Joakim Noah exchanged words after a James dunk early in the third quarter. Both received technical fouls, and James called out Noah for "disrespectful language."

"It started on the play before when he fouled me," James said. "I love Joakim's emotion and his passion. The words he used went too far. I'm a father with three kids, and it got very disrespectful. I'm OK with competing, and I love the competitive nature in him. But we should leave it there.

"What he said to me was uncalled for. The best way to retaliate is to make a play. That's the only way I know how to resolve things — make a play and help our team."

Now, the Cavaliers turn to Game 4 on Sunday, and they need a win to regain home-court advantage. James has been in this situation before — down 2-1 in a series. It happened in 2013 against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals and against the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals, and James' Miami Heat team won both series.

"They played their hearts out," Cavs coach David Blatt said. "I have no complaints. We could have done a few things better but didn't."

Said James: "We just kept fighting. That's what I love about this team. We gave ourselves a chance."

The Cavs had sub-par games from James and Irving and still had a chance. There's some positive there, but sometime soon in this series — if the Cavs are going to advance — they need better play from James and Irving, and they need to capitalize on those chances.

Follow Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt.

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