Report: Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr. to Miss Monday’s Contest vs. Knicks

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be missing two key players when they take the court on Monday night against the New York Knicks.

That’s because both Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr. have been ruled out of the contest, which will be taking place just one day after the Cavaliers dropped a 114-95 home decision to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The absence of Nance marks the second game in a row that the veteran will miss because of a thumb injury that he first suffered on Nov. 3. Nance then re-injured the thumb during Thursday night’s loss to the Miami Heat and was scheduled to visit with a hand specialist on Saturday.

In the case of Love, the back issue stems from a fall he took during Sunday’s game that likely limited him to just 25 minutes of action. The tumble also resulted in a tweak of his right leg, though Love appeared unconcerned about that after the contest.

The Cavaliers’ game against the Knicks comes just eight days after they traveled to Madison Square Garden and easily defeated their hosts by a 108-87 score. However, the absence of both Love and Nance will make repeating that accomplishment more difficult.

That’s because Love had been thriving after missing most of last season due to injury. The veteran had been averaging 18.2 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in the season’s first 12 games.

Nance has also been a solid contributor in the early going, averaging 9.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.1 assists per game. In addition, Nance has already knocked down 10 3-pointers for the year.