Cavaliers Get Concerning Jarrett Allen Injury Update vs. Thunder

A right knee injury has Jarrett Allen doubtful to return Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.

The Cleveland Cavaliers center went out after missing his only shot and grabbing 1 rebound. The Oklahoma City Thunder led 37-20 after the first quarter at Paycom Center, in the second of two straight games between the teams.

The right knee has bothered Allen before. Tendinitis flared up March 3 last season against the Detroit Pistons, and he missed 10 games before coming back March 27 against the Miami Heat.

Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson capped him at about 20 minutes that night and said the team was grateful to have a runway to get him back up to speed.

"It starts at the rim with him — at both ends," Atkinson said.

Allen played just over 18 minutes in that return. In April, he told Chris Fedor of cleveland.com that the knee was still sore and not at 100%.

It flared again before this season's Oct. 22 opener at Philadelphia. The Cavaliers listed him as questionable with right patellar tendinopathy, and Allen said that morning he was trying to be cautious with the knee going into his 10th season and that the soreness felt "a little bit" like last March.

"I'd be lying if I said there wouldn't be limitations," Allen said. "There's pain there. But do I think it's going to hold me back to a detriment? No, I don't think so."

He started that night and all six games after it. His 15.1 points a game came on 41-of-65 shooting, and he was pulling down 8.7 rebounds.

At Milwaukee on Oct. 31, he made 12 of his 16 shots for 25 points and added 11 rebounds.

In Monday's 117-112 loss to the Thunder, Allen scored 14 in 28 minutes and was a plus-11, but Atkinson finished the game with Evan Mobley as his only big.

Last season brought averages of 15.4 points and 8.5 rebounds over 56 games, on 63.8% shooting. His career high is 40 points, with 17 rebounds that night, against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Brooklyn drafted him 22nd in 2017 out of Texas. Cleveland traded for him in January 2021, and he was an All-Star a year later.

Peyton Watson (right hamstring tightness), Jaylon Tyson (right ankle sprain), and Nae'Qwan Tomlin (lumbar stress reaction) did not play Wednesday. Tyson has now missed three in a row.

Tyrese Proctor got his second career start in Watson's spot, and Meleek Thomas, Monday's starter there, came off the bench.

Mobley and Thomas Bryant are the other bigs who have played.

The Cavaliers came in at 4-3 and the Thunder at 5-2, with Oklahoma City still missing Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Cason Wallace.

Cleveland returns to Rocket Arena on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. ET game against the Philadelphia 76ers, its first NBA Cup group game. The New York Knicks visit Saturday.