Kevin Love‘s brutal season of injuries continued on Tuesday night when the All-Star forward got his tooth knocked in during a game against the Miami Heat.
Love, who had returned earlier in the month after breaking his hand, suffered the injury very early on in the first quarter. Love took an elbow to the face and had to leave the game because of what happened to his tooth. Here’s footage of him leaving, which doesn’t provide you the proper angle to show you what actually happened to him.
Kevin Love heads to the locker room after taking an elbow to the face. #CavsHeat: https://t.co/11GGfH4Nf0 pic.twitter.com/2cdG7gS8J5
— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) March 28, 2018
A more astute angle shows exactly what happened here: His tooth literally was loosened by the blow to the head. It’s not exactly a fun thing to look at, so we advise being cautious if you get grossed out by humans having loose teeth.
Yikes. pic.twitter.com/dUxYJegjae
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 28, 2018
Love left the game and the team confirmed later that he would not return for the second half.
.@kevinlove was re-evaluated in locker room at half and will not return tonight.
— Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG) March 28, 2018
It’s the latest in a long string of injuries for Love. He’s missed time with migraines, and the hand break derailed his hopes of appearing in the All-Star Game for a second straight year. You have to feel for Love here, as it seems he really has had some bad luck this season. Still, if there’s any good news, it’s that needing dental work isn’t nearly as bad as a broken hand.
Update: After the game, the Cavaliers reported that Love suffered concussion-like symptoms from the initial blow to the head.
Love showed concussion-like symptoms, according to a team spokesman, and was held out of the 2nd half for precautionary reasons. He will be re-evaluated on Weds morn, according to the team, at which point a determination will be made if he needs to enter the concussion protocol
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 28, 2018
