Bathroom break kept Rose out of Indiana win down the stretch

The NBA bench can be considered long, especially for players who are non-starters or coming back from injuries.

But in the case of DerrickRose -- who fits both of the above-mentioned descriptions --Friday night's win against the visiting Indiana Pacers at Quicken Loans Arena, it wasn't that long.

But coach TyronnLue could not locate the veteran guard when he looked for him in the fourth quarter against the Pacers.

No, really.

The reason? Rose said it was because he drank too much water during and after he contributed 14 points, on 6-of-8 shooting, and added two rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes. It was perhaps his best game in a Cleveland uniform.

"Hydrating," Rose explained after practice Saturday in Independence. "I think that a lot of people hydrate. It's one of the reasons Lue got mad at me yesterday. I was in the bathroom. I didn't know he wanted me to come back in the game."

Lue, as is his nature, defended his player, explaining the reason for not playing Rose in the fourth quarter was because he was tired.