Matthew Dellavedova (Photo : Reuters)
Cavaliers' shock-troopers Matthew Dellavedova and Iman Shumpert are both cleared to play in Game 4 of the NBA Finals Thursday night at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
For Cavs fans, those words are certainly music to the ears.
Dellavedova and Shumpert both went home hurting after Tuesday night's scrambling 96-91 Game 3 win over the Golden State Warriors to lead the series 2-1. But they are okay now.
After an improbable 20-point 5-rebound 4-assist effort, Delly was taken by an ambulance to the Cleveland Clinic immediately after the game due to severe cramps and dehydration. He was treated, re-hydrated, and by Wednesday afternoon the point guard is already with his teammates in the film room.
It was the second straight game that the Australian hounded the Warriors' leader Stephen Curry. Reports have suggested that Delly was the reason for the MVP's recent offensive struggles, but Charles Barkley had since refuted the legend.
"That's the most tired I've been," Delly told ESPN. "I'm feeling good now, though."
Meanwhile, Shumpert appeared to have aggravated his previously dislocated shoulder when he bumped into a screen of Warriors' power forward Draymond Green in the first quarter of Game 3. He quickly went to the locker room and was temporarily treated but came back on the floor in the second period albeit with reduced efficacy.
Shumpert only shot two times in the game, both three-pointers and making one, but was able to keep his defensive tenacity on the other half of Golden State's Splash Brothers, Klay Thompson.
An MRI showed that he only suffered a bruised shoulder and no structural damage, which gave the former Knick a sigh of relief. (Source: Sports Illustrated)
"It would take a lot for me not to play," Shumpert told reporters on Wednesday. "There would have to be structural damage (for me to stop playing)."
The NBA Finals continues with Game 4 on Thursday, 9 p.m. E.T.
