Cleveland Cavaliers’ Dwyane Wade, center, drives to the basket between Orlando Magic’s Terrence Ross, left, and Evan Fournier, from France, in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
NEW YORK — Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dwyane Wade has a bruised left knee and won’t play Wednesday night against the Brooklyn Nets.
Wade came off the bench and scored 11 points in 19 minutes in Tuesday’s win over the Bulls. It was Wade’s first game with Cleveland’s second unit, and the 35-year-old added four assists and three rebounds as the
Cavs’ reserves cut into Chicago’s early 14-point lead.
Coach Tyronn Lue said he didn’t know Wade had banged knees during the game, saying it was just a freak accident and that the knee had swelled up on the flight to New York.
Earlier this week, Wade asked Lue to take him out of the starting lineup because he thought it would benefit the team. Lue has been juggling his lineups and rotations while trying to blend new players and deal with injuries.
Starting point guard Derrick Rose was out for the third straight game with a sprained ankle, with Lue saying he hoped Rose could return Saturday. LeBron James made a rare start at point guard and scored 34 points with 13 assists as the Cavs improved to 3-1. James also tweaked his right ankle.
Nets guard D’Angelo Russell was out with a right knee sprain. Coach Kenny Atkinson said the injury wasn’t serious and that the team was being cautious with its 22-year-old leading scorer.