Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving has been playing with a strained right foot, suffered in the first-round sweep of the Boston Celtics.
The Cavs revealed the injury Friday in Chicago after the Bulls' 96-93 win in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal. The Bulls lead the series, 2-1.
"Look, we're not talking about it, but Kyrie has been playing hurt," Cavs coach David Blatt said. "He's showing a lot of courage, and he's giving us everything he has. He played a terrific two first games, and he'll continue to do that. But today was a little bit less of a successful game for him."
Irving finished Game 3 with 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting in 38 minutes. On one occasion, Irving made a 3-pointer then turned and grimaced as he limped to get back on defense. He entered Friday averaging 22.0 points and 4.5 assists in the first two game of the series.
"I tried to get treatment on it, tried to stay ready to play," Irving said of the sore foot. "But I don't make any excuses for myself, and for me to go out there, obviously, I was just trying to play through it as best I can, and I'm still going to continue to do that."
Irving underwent imaging and scans on the foot after injuring it in Game 2 of the series against the Celtics. He struggled to 1-of-11 shooting in the second half Friday, including 0 of 5 in the fourth quarter. He said he stayed in the game as more of a "decoy," in an effort to make things easier for his teammates.
"No excuses," he said. "Three of 13, that's not like me. But in terms of tonight, I'm not going to hang my head on having a bad foot or anything like that. I'm just going to continue to have that mindset and that attitude to go out there and compete for my brothers."
Game 4 is Sunday at 3:30 p.m. EST in Chicago. The Cavs lost Friday on a 3-point heave by Derrick Rose that banked in and just beat the final buzzer.
The Cavs lost power forward Kevin Love for the playoffs after he dislocated and suffered ligament damage in his shoulder in Game 4 of the Boston series. Guard Iman Shumpert also played through a strained groin Friday.
"It is what it is right now," said LeBron James, who led the Cavs with 27 points. "No one feels sorry for Kyrie because he's hurting. We're not going to make any excuses. He's on the floor, he has to make plays. And I have to help him, and we have to help our team. Obviously, from a competitive standpoint, it's killing him inside because I know what type of competitor he is and I know what type of teammate he is. He wants to do everything great for his teammates. But the situation is the situation.
