The Cleveland Cavaliers will have to deal with the absence of All-Star guard Kyrie Irving for about a month or longer and are set to face the Washington Wizards Tuesday from Quicken Loans Arena.
Irving is expected to miss about three to four weeks with a sprained shoulder and suffered the injury in Sunday's 100-96 loss at Toronto. Irving, who leads the Cavs with 23.0 ppg, scored 12 points in less than 25 minutes against the Raptors before leaving the court.
"I was afraid to touch it," Irving said of the shoulder. "I was just unsure of what was going on."
Irving has missed time this season with a broken finger and knee issue.
Dion Waiters scored a game-high 21 points, C.J. Miles added 15 points and Tristan Thompson recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have lost four of their last five games.
The Cavaliers look to build on their 12-19 home record tonight.
Washington, meanwhile, is aiming for back-to-back wins after recording a 104-87 triumph Saturday versus the Charlotte Bobcats.
Trevor Ariza poured in 26 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, while Martell Webster chipped in 20 points and Nene finished with 19 points and eight rebounds for the Wizards.
The Wizards were able to bounce back from a rough loss at Brooklyn.
"This was the best thing that could have happened to us," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "The worst thing would have been to have a couple of days to sit at it and mope about it. I was so happy we had a back-to-back after that game. They wanted to make amends for the performance we had."
After visiting the Cavs, Washington will return home for three straight games versus Milwaukee, New Orleans and Phoenix.
Washington has lost the first two meetings with Cleveland this season and four of the past six matchups between the teams.
The Wizards haven't fared well lately in the Forest City, losing two of three and nine of the past 11 visits there.
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