CLEVELAND — Heartbreak for the Cleveland Cavaliers today as the team confirmed that guard Ricky Rubio will be out for the remainder of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear.
The 31-year-old suffered the injury during a non-contact stop in the fourth quarter of Tuesday night's game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Before getting hurt, Rubio- who was started at the point with Darius Garland in health and safety protocols- had scored 27 points while adding 13 rebounds and eight assists. Rubio has made a major impact in his first season with Cleveland.
The guard, who was carried off the court by his teammates, underwent further examination Wednesday morning, including an MRI at the Cleveland Clinic that confirmed the injury.
The loss of Rubio deals a serious blow to Cleveland's already thin guard core, with Collin Sexton out for the year with a torn meniscus and Darius Garland just placed in the NBA's health and safety protocols on Tuesday. The absence of a true point guard hurt the team in the final minutes, as the lineup struggled with shot selection despite multiple chances to tie things up in the waning seconds.
The Cavaliers fell to the Pelicans 108- 104. With their season potentially at a crossroads, the Cavaliers will be off Wednesday before heading to Washington D.C. to play the Wizards Thursday night.
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*Editor's Note: The video in the player above is forma previous report.