Cleveland Cavaliers big man Tristan Thompson will miss his team’s game against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday after spraining his right thumb in Tuesday’s 122-102 win over the Orlando Magic, the Cavaliers announced. This is noteworthy not just because the Cavs and Celtics are tied for first in the Eastern Conference, but because it will end the NBA’s longest active games played streak. Thompson has appeared in Cleveland’s last 447 games.
Thompson suffered the injury in the third quarter and kept playing after being taped up. He had X-rays at the arena and, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, an MRI on Wednesday morning. The Cavs announced that the results confirmed the sprain, and he will continue with treatment and evaluation in Cleveland this week. He will also miss Friday’s home game against the Atlanta Hawks. This will obviously weaken the team on defense and on the glass.
Related news: The Cavs called up center Larry Sanders from the NBA D-League’s Canton Charge on Wednesday morning. If there’s a silver lining to the Thompson injury, it’s that it gives them a chance to look at Sanders before the playoffs start. In his four games with the Charge, Sanders averaged 6.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in 19.4 minutes.
