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Cavs’ Irving to return Tuesday night
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
After missing two games with a bruised left knee, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving is expected to return for Tuesday night’s game against the Hawks in Atlanta.
Irving is averaging 20.2 points and 5.3 assists for the Cavs this season. He first injured the leg during an Dec. 11 game against Oklahoma City but continued to play before he hyperextended the knee during the fourth quarter of a loss to the Miami Heat last Thursday.
“We just got to be ready to play and me being out there, just got to do whatever it takes,” Irving said Tuesday morning before the team’s shootaround.
An MRI after the game in Miami showed no further damage to the knee beyond the bone bruise.
“It’s a little tender right now, a little sore, but it’s part of the game,” Irving said earlier. “After the OKC knee injury, I kept playing on it, kept playing on it and I reinjured it against Miami. It’s just one of those things where it will get better with time. But I just got to keep rehabbing it and doing what I need to do in order to get ready to play every single night.”
The Cavs were 1-1 without Irving, winning Friday night in Orlando but suffering a 23-point home loss to the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
