CLEVELAND _ Kevin Love's left knee had been bothering him for three games before he finally had the MRI and subsequent surgery on it this week, Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said Wednesday.
That includes the second night of a back-to-back at Oklahoma City, when Love played 31 minutes after Lue previously considered resting all of his stars.
"He played through it. His knee was swollen a little bit," Lue said. "Then he came and got the MRI after that third game."
The "third game" Lue is referencing is Saturday's win at Denver, when Love played 34 minutes on a knee that had apparently been bothering him for a few days.
Love remains in New York now to rehab following arthroscopic surgery to remove a loose body from the knee. Alex Moore, a member of the Cavs' training staff who works extensively with Love year-round, flew to New York Wednesday night to aid in his rehab over the All-Star break.
Lue said playing more games on the knee did not further damage it because the damage was already done. He also didn't regret reversing course and playing him against the Thunder after initially leaning toward resting him.
"He was already heading for surgery," Lue said.
Love's injury, while he hasn't played an exorbitant number of minutes this season, comes while a debate over LeBron James minutes continues. Lue and James remain adamant he is where he should be in minutes played because the Cavs rarely practice and James isn't asked to defend the opponent's best player, so he isn't working hard defensively every possession.
However, Lue acknowledged prior to Tuesday's win at Minnesota that James will get games off in March. That also brings into question what to do with Kyrie Irving because Lue has previously said he doesn't like playing Irving on nights James and Love don't play because defenses can load up on him.
"I definitely have to figure it out," Lue said. "And with the additional guys that we have now and Kay (Felder) and Liggs (DeAndre Liggins) those guys can step up and be ready to play. We do have to manage that and we'll see what's right."
