'Frustrated' Kyrie Irving 'worried' after re-injuring left knee in Game 1 loss

OAKLAND – Kyrie Irving sat at his locker with a towel over his head for about five minutes after reporters finished asking questions.

He was alone with his thoughts.

But minutes before, the Cleveland Cavaliers' All-Star guard said he was "a little disappointed, a little frustrated" that he re-injured his left knee in overtime of Golden State's 108-100 victory against the Cavs in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.

For the previous 40-plus minutes he played, Irving was fantastic, showing no signs of the tendinitis that has bothered him and kept him from playing as much as he wanted in the two previous series.

"Coming in I felt amazing," said Irving, who had 23 points, seven rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks, including one on Steph Curry that set up Cleveland's potentially game-winning possession at the end of regulation.

Sitting in the locker room after the loss, amazing turned to concern.

"Obviously you can see in the tone in my voice I'm a little worried," Irving said.

Irving injured or re-aggravated his knee with 2:23 left in overtime as he tried to dribble by Warriors guard Klay Thompson.

"Just in a little bit of pain. … I don't know what I felt but obviously it didn't feel right. It was a little bit different than what I had been experiencing," Irving said.

Now, Cleveland's chances of winning a championship or even making the Finals a long series depends on the health of Irving's knee. He left the arena on crutches and will undergo an MRI on Friday.

"It was very tough to see," LeBron James said. "I just see how hard he worked these last eight days just to get himself to play at this level tonight. Seeing him walk out of the locker room on crutches just now, that's a tough blow for our team."

Irving's dad, Drederick, and agent, Jeff Wechsler, were in and out the Cavs locker room, and Cavs general manager David Griffin spent time talking with Wechsler. At one point, Irving's dad had Griffin relay any information about his Irving's knee to Wechsler.

Irving's limp was worse in the locker room than it was when he left the court, but his knee also had time to tighten up. The crutches also are no indication of the extent of the injury. Regardless, the Cavs wanted him to take pressure off the knee.

Irving used the phrase or a similar phrase – "I just felt something different" – multiple times when asked about his knee.

Irving said his "ACL is fine. MCL is fine. There are other parts of the knee that could affect what's going on. Obviously I hope it's just a re-aggravation of what was going on. … I just want to make sure everything's OK so I'm going to take the necessary steps in order to see what's going on."

The MRI will determine structural damage but even if there is none, this could be a setback after the progress he has made since the Eastern Conference finals against the Atlanta Hawks.

Irving hasn't played much since Game 5 of the Chicago Bulls conference semifinals series on May 12. He played 12 minutes in Game 6 against Chicago, played in Game 1 of the Hawks series, missed Games 2 and 3 and returned for Game 4.

Before Game 2 of the Hawks series, Irving traveled to Florida with Cavs team doctor Richard Parker and met with renowned orthopedic specialist Dr. James Andrews. Andrews confirmed the tendinitis diagnosis and came up with a treatment plan for Irving.

The Cavs and Irving were coy about Irving's progress during the eight-day layoff between the end of the conference finals and start of the Finals.

But it was clear from the start of Game 1 that Irving had made significant progress and was able to contribute more and at a higher level than he did in the Hawks series and a portion of the Bulls series.

He defended and was a playmaker on offense. He was so effective that backup Matthew Dellavedova, who played big minutes in the previous two series, played just nine minutes in Game 1 against Golden State.

"It's the next man up," James said. "If Kyrie can't go, Delly's number is going to be called and everyone else has to pick each other up."

But it's hard to envision the Cavs having success without Irving or a limited Irving.