Cavs' Garland sidelined with toe issue, out for Miami rematch. So are Mitchell and Mobley

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MIAMI (AP) — Cleveland guard Darius Garland avoided a major injury when he hurt his toe earlier this week against the Miami Heat, though a return timeline is still unknown.

Garland left in the third quarter of Cleveland’s loss to Miami on Monday with what the team said Wednesday was a contusion on the left great toe that he had surgically repaired in June.

“Relieved,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said Wednesday afternoon. “A little bit of a freak collision with (Heat forward Nikola) Jovic and experienced a little bit of stiffness, but it wasn’t grave or anything like that.”

Garland was ruled out of Wednesday’s game at Miami, and while no timeline for his return was given, Atkinson indicated the two-time All-Star won’t be rushed back into action.

“I’ve said this before: This is not an easy injury to come back from,” Atkinson said. “We see it in the NFL. I follow all the quarterbacks who have had a similar injury. And everybody thinks with this one you can kind of just take off like coming back from an ankle sprain. No, this is different. I’ve read up a lot about it. I’ve been educated by our group."

Garland, the Cavs said, got hurt in the second quarter Monday when he made incidental contact with Jovic on a drive to the basket. Garland tried to play through the issue but left midway through the third quarter of Cleveland's 140-138 overtime loss.

The left great toe is the same one that Garland struggled with through the closing month of the 2024-25 regular season as well as last season's playoffs.

Garland has played in only three games this season, sitting out the first couple weeks while finishing his recovery from surgery and ramping up into basketball shape.

Cleveland will also play Wednesday without guard Donovan Mitchell and forward Evan Mobley, the league's reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Both are being held out for rest, the Cavaliers said.

Miami will again be without Bam Adebayo (toe) and Tyler Herro (heel). Adebayo will miss his fourth consecutive game and Herro has yet to play this season following surgery over the summer.

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