Inside The Spurs

Cleveland Cavaliers Star Ruled Out During Spurs Game

The Cleveland Cavaliers ruled out star center Jarrett Allen against the San Antonio Spurs

Matt Guzman

Apr 10, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) and center Jarrett Allen (31) celebrate during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Apr 10, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) and center Jarrett Allen (31) celebrate during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
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SAN ANTONIO — The Cleveland Cavaliers' second-half rotation looked slightly different without one of their starters. It wasn't due to injury, however.

The San Antonio Spurs played host to the Cavaliers in their sixth-to-last game of the regular season, and while the Western Conference Play-In is nearly out of reach, the same can't be said for the stakes of their visitors.

Cleveland has a chance to clinch the East's No. 1 seed with a win and a Boston Celtics loss Friday evening. Critical to that effort was star big man Jarrett Allen — for the first half, at least.

Allen headed to the locker room with the rest of his teammates at halftime, but when both squads came back, he was no longer set to play. Per the Cavaliers broadcast, Allen had a goal of playing all 82 games this season, but ran into an obstacle when the team insisted on late-season rest.

As a result, Allen and his coaching staff found a compromise.

At the half, Allen logged four points, four rebounds and three assists. San Antonio is led by Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle, who both reached 20 points by the fourth quarter.

With a loss, the Spurs will fall five games behind the No. 10-seeded Sacramento Kings with only five games to play as the end of their regular season draws nearer.

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Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

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