Kyrie Irving said his surgically repaired left knee bothered him so much on Thursday's off day that it was "a terrible day for me and my knee."
"I mean it's never easy, even the year after, just to realize that you have plates and screws in your knee and stuff like that," Irving said.
Irving limped to the bench and then the locker room in the third quarter of the Cleveland Cavaliers' surprising 114-100 loss at home to a depleted Atlanta Hawks' team.
"It just, I don't want it to feel sore anymore but it's just the realization of it," Irving said. "I'm doing everything possible to take care of my body, I've got a clear conscience with that. But also understand that sometimes it's gonna hurt. And I gotta be able to deal with it.
"So the next few days are pretty important. Tomorrow and then playing in Atlanta and Miami, and then just doing everything possible to prepare."
Irving underwent surgery on the knee in June of 2015.
