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Cleveland Cavaliers Receive Bad Donovan Mitchell News on Monday
Apr 6, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket between Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) guard Zach LaVine (8) during the second half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

With the NBA regular season coming down the home stretch, the worst thing that could happen to a team is a major injury. The Cavaliers, needing just one win or a Celtics loss to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, have fallen victim to poor injury luck with just four games remaining.

Superstar guard Donovan Mitchell will miss Cleveland's home game against the Bulls on Tuesday night due to a left ankle sprain, the team announced.

Less than two minutes into the third quarter of Sunday's 120-113 loss to the Kings, Mitchell went down with an apparent injury and hobbled to the locker room. While running down the court in transition, Mitchell collided with the backside of Kings guard Keon Ellis and fell out of bounds.

"I just stepped on his foot," Mitchell said in a postgame interview." Just going to let tomorrow be tomorrow and go from there."

Mitchell later returned to the game, but could not will the Cavaliers to victory over Sacramento. The guard was candid when asked postgame why he risked further injury to come back.

"I want to get the No. 1 seed," Mitchell said. "If I'm able to go, I'm able to go. Obviously, [I was] a little hobbled after the first adrenaline rush, probably that first five to 10 minutes, but I'm trying to win. I'm trying to help my team win in any way possible. Just trying to bring energy, and if I'm out there, I can't have certain mistakes that I made."

Now in his third year with Cleveland, Mitchell is a First-Team All-NBA candidate. The 28-year-old was named an All-Star for the sixth consecutive year and is averaging 24.0 points, 5.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game this season.

While the No. 1 overall seed and tying the franchise win record are important for the Cavaliers, nothing matters more than Mitchell entering the playoffs healthy.

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This article first appeared on Cleveland Cavaliers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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