Kevin Love Injury Update: Cavaliers Star Cleared to Play in Game 4 of NBA Finals

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love was cleared to play in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors on Friday.

The NBA announced the news on Twitter.

Love suffered a concussion during Cleveland’s Game 2 loss when Harrison Barnes inadvertently hit him in the head with an elbow. Love played some in the second half after the incident but eventually took himself out of the contest because of dizziness, per Tom Withers of the Associated Press (h/t Yahoo Sports).

Withers noted the forward was placed in the NBA concussion protocol and missed Game 3. Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue used Richard Jefferson in the starting lineup and elected to move LeBron James to the power forward role in Love’s absence.

That Love is playing Friday doesn’t come as much of a surprise, considering Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal reported he “went through [the] full shootaround.” Lloyd also noted “it’s likely he will come off the bench in Game 4” when discussing Love’s status.

The Warriors won Games 1 and 2 at home by a combined 48 points, but the Cavaliers bounced back and dominated Game 3 without Love on the floor during their 120-90 victory.

It would be tempting to point to Love’s absence as a clear difference for Cleveland, but there were other factors in play that could have led to the improved effort in Game 3. The Cavaliers were back on their home floor and likely played with a sense of desperation in the hope of avoiding an overwhelming 3-0 deficit against the defending champions.

Still, Lloyd pointed out there was some uncertainty within the organization about Love’s ability to match up against Golden State:

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The Cavs have privately been concerned for months how Love would match up defensively in a Finals rematch against the Warriors, with one team executive offering during the regular season that Love may have to become the Cavs’ version of David Lee – the high-priced, high-scoring forward who came off the bench last year to help spark the Warriors to a championship.

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With Love sidelined in Game 3, James held Draymond Green in check, and the Warriors forward scored a mere six points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field. Meanwhile, Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined to shoot 10-of-26 from the field (38 percent).

Love averaged 16.0 points and 9.9 rebounds per game during the regular season and did post a double-double in Game 1 of the Finals, but he struggled during Cleveland’s 110-77 loss in Game 2 before exiting:

Game	Result	Minutes	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Field Goals
1	104-89, Golden State	37	17	13	2	7-of-17 (41.2 percent)
2	110-77, Golden State	21	5	3	0	2-of-7 (28.6 percent)
3	120-90, Cleveland	-	-	-	-	-

The Cavaliers played without Love in last year’s Finals against the Warriors because he dislocated his left shoulder and needed surgery. They lost to Golden State in six games, although they established a 2-1 advantage before dropping the final three contests.