A_PICK_OF_KY_AND_MIKE.JPG

Cavaliers coach Mike Brown (left) talked to Kyrie Irving before a serious biceps injury forced Irving out of the game against the Clippers on Sunday in Los Angeles.

(AP)

LOS ANGELES -- It's possible the Cavaliers lost Kyrie Irving for the season in Sunday's 102-80 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night at Staples Center.

Irving, the Cavs All-Star point guard, left the game with a left biceps injury late in the first quarter, and he left the arena with his left arm in a sling. He is scheduled to have an MRI on Monday in Cleveland, but two NBA sources indicated the injury could be severe enough to end his season in the worst-case scenario.

That would be a blow to the Cavs, 26-41, clinging to their fading playoff hopes in spite of being 4.5 games behind eighth-seeded Atlanta with 15 games left, as well as to Irving, who worked extremely hard last summer in order to prevent the sorts of freak injuries that have plagued him throughout his career.

He has missed just three games this year with a left knee contusion, and even played through a broken nose suffered when he was elbowed by the Timberwolves' Corey Brewer at Minnesota on Nov. 13.

Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the case in his first three seasons. Last year, he missed 11 games with a fractured left index finger, three with a hyperextended right knee and a total of nine after suffering a sprained left AC joint. He played through a broken bone in his jaw that was protected by a mask. Before last season, he broke his hand when he slapped a padded wall in frustration during a summer-league practice.

His rookie season, he missed 13 games with a concussion and a shoulder injury. His one season at Duke was limited to 11 games because of a toe injury.

After Sunday's game, Cavs coach Mike Brown said only that Irving had a biceps injury that would be reevaluated on Monday. The coach said he wasn't sure how the injury happened, although Fox Sports Ohio replays seemed to indicate Blake Griffin hit the ball while it was in Irving's hand.

"I wish I had an opportunity to look at a lot of replays tonight, just to make sure everything was OK out there,'' Brown said.

“Seeing anybody go down is tough,” Jarrett Jack said. “I don’t want to speculate the extent of the injury. Hopefully we can get him back healthy as soon as possible.”

Irving did not speak to reporters after the game. He left with 2:20 left in the first quarter and did not return. At that point the Cavs were down, 25-12. The Clippers jumped off to a 15-2 start and coasted to their 11th straight victory while improving to 48-20.

Griffin, celebrating his 25th birthday, had 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Chris Paul added 16 points and 15 assists for the Clippers. Griffin has scored 20 or more points in 26 straight games.

Luol Deng had 23 points to lead the Cavs. Dion Waiters added 15 points, Anderson Varejao had 12 rebounds and Spencer Hawes had 14 points. Hawes, who had a flagrant foul on Wednesday at Phoenix, was called for a flagrant foul against Griffin with 49.1 seconds left in the second quarter and also earned two technical fouls and an ejection late in the game, waving goodbye on his way off the court. The first technical -- his 10th of the season -- cost him $3,000. His second cost him $4,000, and the ejection cost another $2,000.

No wonder he didn't want to discuss them.

"I’ve given up enough money tonight,'' he said. "I won’t say anything more beyond that.''

The rest of the Cavs cost themselves against the Clippers with 17 turnovers that led to 28 points for the Clippers, who also outscored the Cavs on the break, 25-5.

"Give the Clippers credit,'' Brown said. "They came out in the first half and they did what they do. I thought they got out in transition and their transition offense really hurt us in the first half. Blake was terrific; when he got out, he exploded in transition and Chris Paul did what Chris Paul does. He got the ball up the floor so quickly that they converted some easy buckets in transition, got a little separation and their confidence grew from there.''