sport news NBA: Donovan Mitchell reinjures his groin as Cavs lose nail biter to the Knicks trends now
Donovan Mitchell felt good enough to play again, just not good enough at the end to win it for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Mitchell returned from a three-game absence with a strained left groin, but he was hurting again as the game finished with the New York Knicks beating the Cavaliers 105-103 on Tuesday night.
Mitchell drove into the lane to attempt the tying shot, but fell short after both his legs cramped and his groin tightened up again.
Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell (45) dunks the ball against the New York Knicks
The star guard said after the game his groin felt the way it did when he had to sit out three games last week.
'Same as before, so I don´t know what comes next,' he said.
Mitchell finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and four steals. But it seemed clear he didn't have his usual lift, getting consecutive shots blocked down the stretch before being unable to score on his final drive when Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein got in front of him at the rim.
'I felt it a little bit, but nothing to the extent of at the end of the game, and we´ll figure it out and see what happens,' Mitchell said. 'But it´s tough when both legs cramp and then you have the groin at the same time.'
The Cavaliers were down three with 1:18 remaining when Mitchell's driving shot was blocked by RJ Barrett. Hartenstein blocked Mitchell's short shot on his next attempt with 47 seconds to play.
New York Knicks' Isaiah Hartenstein (55) defends a shot by Mitchell (45) during the second half
Mitchell thought he was fouled on one of the late plays, but took the blame for the Cavs not being able to pull it out.
'That´s on me, I let the team down at the end of the game,' Mitchell said. 'We played a really good game up to that point, all of us, and I didn´t do my job and that´s on me.'
He remained on the court a couple minutes after the buzzer sounded, his legs too painful to get up.
'I´m just upset that I felt good enough to come back and for that to be the last five seconds of the game really (ticks) me off,' Mitchell said.
Mitchell crumbles to the floor where he remained for several minutes pain and frustration
HEAT 98, CELTICS 95
Bam Adebayo had 30 points and 15 rebounds, including the jump shot that put Miami ahead to stay with 20.4 seconds remaining, and the Heat rallied from 14 down to beat the Boston Celtics 98-95 on Tuesday night.
Haywood Highsmith had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Max Strus scored 13 points and Victor Oladipo had 12 for the Heat.
A 15-0 run in the fourth quarter lifted the Heat, who split the regular-season series with the Celtics 2-2.
Jayson Tatum finished with 31 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for the Celtics. Derrick White scored 23 points, and Robert Williams III had 11.
Tyler Herro stole a cross-court pass thrown by Jayson Tatum with just over a second remaining, denying Boston a chance to tie or take the lead.
Highsmith´s free throw with 0.6 seconds left put Miami up by three. Boston called time, and Payton Pritchard´s straightaway 30-footer fell short as time expired.
Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat dunks the ball during the game against the Boston Celtics
CLIPPERS 133, LAKERS 115
LeBron James hit a career-high nine 3-pointers while scoring 46 points, but the Los Angeles Clippers hit
