Matthew Dellavedova hospitalized for cramping; Iman Shumpert has bruised shoulder
CLEVELAND -- The Cavaliers suffered a couple of more health scares in Tuesday night's 96-91 win over the Golden State Warriorsin Game 3 of the NBA Finals, with both members of their starting backcourt -- Matthew Dellavedova and Iman Shumpert -- requiring medical attention after the game.
Dellavedova experienced "severe cramping," per the Cavs, and required an IV after putting up 20 points in 39 minutes. He was able to walk under his own power to the parking garage at Quicken Loans Arena, where he was placed on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to the Cleveland Clinic. He was admitted to receive additional treatment.
The Cavaliers said they would provide an update "shortly before" an afternoon practice at the arena.
"He plays as hard as he can every day," Cavaliers coach David Blatt said. "He plays right. He's not afraid. He plays courageously. And everybody on his team has his back. It's not an issue of confidence. He is going to give you whatever he has."
SaidLeBron Jamesof Dellavedova: "He's going to give everything he's got. His body, he's going to throw his body all over the place.And he's going to compete at a high level however many minutes he's out on the floor."
Shumpert suffered a left shoulder contusion in the first quarter after running into a screen set by Warriors forward Draymond Green and will undergo imaging tests on the shoulder Wednesday.
"I think it's just bruised," Shumpert said after finishing with three points, three rebounds and three steals in 32 minutes. "Bruised, sprained, something. ... I'll be all right."
The Cavs now lead the Finals 2-1 with Game 4 on Thursday in Cleveland.
The Cavs called timeout with 4:52 remaining in the first quarter after Shumpert collided with Green, and the fourth-year guard exited for the locker room flanked by Cavs trainer Stephen Spiro and team physician Dr. Richard Parker. However, Shumpert returned to the bench in the second quarter wearing a compression shirt under his uniform and was able to finish out the game.
"It happens," Shumpert said. "Guys set screens, and you usually go shoulder to shoulder a lot throughout a game, and that time it just hurt a little bit more than usual."
Shumpert dislocated the same shoulder Dec. 12 while playing for the New York Knicks. The injury kept him out of the lineup until Jan. 23.
The swingman averaged 7.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game for the Cavs in the regular season after being acquired from New York and upped his game in the playoffs, assuming a starting role from the second round on and averaging 9.7 points and 5.0 rebounds.
Cleveland entered Game 3 already missing Kyrie Irving (fractured kneecap), Kevin Love (dislocated shoulder) and Anderson Varejao (torn Achilles tendon), who all required season-ending surgeries.
"We just can't afford any more injuries," James said. "We just can't, especially from a guard perspective. I just thought about [Shumpert's] shoulder. As soon as it happened, I knew exactly which shoulder it was, and I was just hoping for the best.
"When he came back on the floor with his shoulder wrapped and knowing that he wasn't at 100 percent with his body out there and still competing, it means everything to the team. It means everything to me. It means everything to him, as well. As you can tell, he came back out there. But yeah, we just can't afford any injuries right now. We're already depleted."
