CLEVELAND -- Finally, there was some good news on the injury front for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
On a day when the Cavaliers found out coach Tyronn Lue would have to miss some time because of serious medical issues, they got a bit of good news on the injury front when power forward Kevin Love returned to the lineup after nearly two months on the shelf because of a broken bone in his left hand.
Love scored 18 points in 25 minutes in a 124-117 win over the Milwaukee Bucks at Quicken Loans Arena Monday night.
“First of all, just having another body is great for our team,” small forward LeBron James said. “His basketball IQ, his familiarity with our system, he just fits right back in. His ability to stretch the floor allows a lot of opposing bigs not just to sit in the paint and clog up the paint, so it’s great to have him back.”
IT'S SO GOOD TO BE BACK!
Kevin Love from deep in the Q! #AllForOne@cavs 🏀 ➡️ https://t.co/ym9jQIwqUR pic.twitter.com/0QZs2AjagX
Love knocked down five of his 13 shots from the field, including a four-for-nine showing from three-point range, and hit all of his attempts from the free-throw line.
Love got the start at center and did not score over the first five-plus minutes of action, but at the 6:27 mark, he caught a pass from James on the right wing, and then, pulled up for and buried a three-pointer.
Late in the first half, Love caught fire from three-point range and hit back-to-back triples that expanded Cleveland’s lead over Milwaukee to seven points.
Off of an inbounds pass from James, Love pulled up just to the right of the top of the key and swished a three-pointer.
Then, after getting a defensive rebound and outletting the ball to James, Love served as a trailer in the transition set down the floor. James flipped a pass to Love and watched as the returning big man knocked down the second of two consecutive threes.
Two straight triples for Love! 🔥🔥
Kevin has 11 1st half PTS in his return to the floor.#AllForOne pic.twitter.com/GBYSasPZH9
Although the Cavaliers got Love back from injury, they were still without the services of center Tristan Thompson (sprained right ankle), guard Rodney Hood (lower back strain), small forward Cedi Osman (left hip flexor) and power forward Larry Nance Jr. (hamstring).
But they are grateful to have gotten back at least one piece of the puzzle.
“He’s such a threat,” shooting guard Kyle Korver said.
“Obviously, people are worried about him. When he’s playing center and the centers have to guard him, it’s a big guy and they have a hard time coming out to him, or if it’s a smaller guy, he can post them up. There’s a lot of different ways we can attack and create some triggers. I think there’s some things we can still iron out, but I thought for a first night, it’s really good.”
