Jarrett Allen Ruled Out as Cavaliers Get 2 Key Returns vs. 76ers

Jarrett Allen will miss his first game of the season Friday night. The Cleveland Cavaliers ruled Allen out with a right knee contusion before hosting the Philadelphia 76ers at Rocket Arena. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

Peyton Watson and Tyrese Proctor are available. All three had carried questionable designations on the NBA’s official injury report through Friday afternoon. Jaylon Tyson (right ankle sprain) and Nae’Qwan Tomlin (low back stress reaction) remain out, and Tyson will miss his fourth straight game.

Allen hurt the knee Wednesday night in Oklahoma City. Late in the first quarter, he collided knee-to-knee with Jared McCain while setting an off-ball screen just past half-court. Evan Mobley checked in for him with 1:11 left in the period. Allen finished the 124-116 loss with 1 rebound and 0-of-1 shooting in 7:08.

His knee was wrapped after the collision, and Cleveland listed the injury as a contusion the next day.

“I don’t know yet, too early to determine,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said after the game. “So the wrap, it gets wrapped, and I think they collide [knees]. So we’ll get looked at tomorrow and see what it looks like.”

Allen started each of Cleveland’s first eight games. Over the seven before Wednesday, he averaged 15.1 points and 8.7 rebounds.

The same knee has given him trouble before. Right knee tendinitis cost Allen 10 games last March. Before this season’s Oct. 22 opener in Philadelphia, the Cavaliers listed him as questionable with right patellar tendinopathy. He played that night, a 114-106 loss in which the 76ers came back from 29 points down.

Thomas Bryant played 12:49 behind Mobley on Wednesday. He scored 8 points, 5 of them at the free-throw line.

Philadelphia arrives at 8-1 with five straight wins and the NBA’s best record. Joel Embiid had 26 points and a season-high 15 rebounds in Wednesday’s 112-106 road win.

Watson sat out Monday’s 117-112 home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Wednesday’s rematch with right hamstring tightness. Friday’s report listed him under right hamstring injury management.

Through the first six games, all starts, Watson averaged 10.8 points and 4.0 rebounds. He shot 37.1% from the field and 16.7% from 3-point range.

Before Wednesday’s game in Oklahoma City, Atkinson said Watson’s hamstring and Tyson’s ankle were on the same track.

“He’s been on court lately, progressing well,” Atkinson explained of Tyson. “This isn’t gonna be a long-term thing. Put Peyton in that boat too.”

“Both have been on court with pretty high intensity ramp up,” Atkinson continued. “So trending well for both of them.”

Cleveland landed Watson in a sign-and-trade with the Denver Nuggets that was agreed to Aug. 19. He signed a four-year, $88 million contract that includes a player option and a trade kicker.

Last March, Watson missed time in Denver with a right hamstring strain, according to the league’s official injury reports.

Proctor made the second start of his NBA career Wednesday in Watson’s spot. He scored 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting and made 2 of his 3 3-point attempts. Six of those came in the fourth quarter, the last on a driving floater and free throw with 3:25 left, before he went to the locker room with what the Cavaliers listed as a left ankle sprain.

Atkinson said he started Proctor on a gut feel because he wanted a different defender on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 42 points.

“Hopefully it’s not too bad,” Atkinson said. “Came to it and it was a pretty good twist, though, pretty good. But he was good. What we expected, solid defensively, makes the right play offensively. Really, really good.”

“When you go through some stuff like this and little hard times, guys are out, you discover things,” Atkinson continued. “You always discover more about your team because you have different guys get more minutes. So that’s always the silver lining. He’s definitely taken advantage of his minutes so far.”

Sam Merrill said Proctor communicates on defense.

“He’s just continuing to get better,” Merrill said. “Tyrese is super competitive and puts in the work. Has defensively been good and really fights through screens. And he communicates, which is really important for us. And him just continuing to be super confident as a jump shooter and letting that thing go. And we know what he can do with the ball in his hands. So hopefully whatever happened to him isn’t too bad because we’re going to need him.”

Cleveland took Proctor 49th overall in 2025 out of Duke and signed him to a four-year, $8.69 million standard contract. He is averaging 2.8 rebounds in his second season, up from 1.3 as a rookie. A right quadriceps strain sidelined him last March.

The Cavaliers are 4-4 and have lost three of their last four. Friday’s game is their first in Emirates NBA Cup group play.

The New York Knicks visit Rocket Arena on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.