The Cleveland Cavaliers destroyed the Los Angeles Lakers 129-99 despite Evan Mobley and Darius Garland being unavailable. But before the Cavs won, Luka Dončić left the game briefly due to an injury. After the game, Lakers' coach JJ Redick blasted the Cavs' court at Rocket Arena, citing an unsafe playing area, according to The Athletic.
“It is absolutely a safety hazard. And I don't know why it's still like that. I don't. You know, you can lodge formal complaints. A lot of times, you don't see any change when you lodge a formal complaint,” Redick said after the game.
The unique feature of the Cavs' court is a gap between the court and the arena floor. Ultimately, there is about an eight-inch difference between the edge of the court and the arena floor. Because of this, there is a greater chance of a slip or some kind of injury. In 2023, Miami Heat guard Dru Smith sustained a right knee injury after getting jammed between the court and the floor when he was contesting a three-point shot. While the Heat allegedly reached out to the NBA with concerns about safety, it did not seem like anything changed.
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On a night when LeBron James returned to Cleveland in what could be his last appearance at the arena where he spent many years, nothing went well for the Lakers. Despite building a 40-30 lead in the second quarter, everything went haywire after that. An awful third quarter put them in a 20-point hole they could not climb out of.
Doncic did return after going to the locker room for a few minutes. However, he was unable to prevent a poor third quarter for the Lakers, in which the Cavs outscored them 42-22. The Lakers will resume their road trip on Friday when they head to Capital One Arena to face the Washington Wizards.