Kevin Love in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena on May 19, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Kevin Love was conspicuously absent during the fourth quarter of Cleveland’s 105-99 loss to the Toronto Raptors in Game 4 Monday night. While some may cite Love’s poor play in the contest, the forward blames an injury he suffered late in the third quarter. Love told reporters after the game he believes he stepped on an official’s foot, which led to discomfort in his ankle and knee.

“I think Kyrie [Irving] was shooting towards the end of the third quarter, and I stepped on the official’s foot, and it didn’t feel too great,” said Love. “More so the knee [than the ankle hurting]. Will be sore tomorrow, but nothing that will prevent me from playing.”

In any event, Love struggled prior to his injury. He shot 4-14 from the field, totaling just 10 points and seven rebounds in 31 minutes. Despite playing the entire third quarter, Love and the Cavaliers trailed 78-69 entering the fourth. But when Channing Frye came in for Love to start the period, Cleveland’s offense enjoyed its best stretch of the game. The Cavaliers made 11 straight shots to open the quarter, and their first miss did not come until 4:11 left in the game.

Head coach Tyronn Lue said he was not sure of the status of Love’s knee during the game, but Frye’s play made the decision to rest Love easy.

“I’m not sure of his health. But it’s no concern. I thought Channing came in and gave us a great lift,” Lue said. “And like I said, like last game, to just try to put Kevin back in with four minutes to go in the fourth quarter in a hostile game, hostile environment, it’s not fair to him.”

Love was excellent in the first two games of this series, but his play has really dropped off a cliff since the team crossed the Canadian border. Although it was a lackluster performance, his Game 4 was a marked improvement over his Game 3 clunker. Love scored just three points on 1-9 shooting in that game, and he also sat out the fourth quarter.

To his credit, Love is managing to keep a positive outlook despite his discouraging play.

“I had a lot of great shots, I just didn’t knock them down,” Love said. “It’s as simple as that. I had a lot of confidence in shooting the ball, a lot of really wide-open 3s, especially to start that first quarter. A number of them went in and out, so I just need to continue to stay aggressive.”

The Cavaliers can win this series without major contributions from Love. They nearly pulled out Monday night’s contest with him riding the bench, and they still possess home-court advantage despite dropping two games in Toronto. However, if Cleveland wants any hope of beating the Golden State Warriors or the resurgent Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, they will need Love healthy and clicking on all cylinders.

[ESPN]

About Ben Sieck

Ben is a recent graduate of Butler University where he served as Managing Editor and Co-Editor-in-Chief for the Butler Collegian. He currently resides in Indianapolis.