CHICAGO -- Kyrie Irving aggravated the tendinitis in his left knee when he stepped on a teammate's foot Thursday night but said he believes he will be ready to play when his Cleveland Cavaliers start the East finals Wednesday.
Irving had been hobbled throughout the series with a sore right foot and left knee, which an MRI on Monday confirmed had tendinitis.
He stepped back on Tristan Thompson's foot and then fell to the ground with 9:47 left in second quarter of the Cavs' 94-73 Game 6 victory over the Chicago Bulls that ended the series.
He left the floor and limped to the locker room.
"I stepped on Tristan's foot and my knee just kind of buckled," Irving said. "There's goes all that treatment out the window in the matter of a play."
Irving had been undergoing nonstop treatment on the injuries for the last week. Team doctors cleared him to return to play if needed but the Cavs expanded the lead while he was in the locker room and he was shut down for the game.
"I wasn't going to play him," Cavs coach David Blatt said. "Not because he's seriously hurt but because he stiffened up."
The Cavs will now get five days off before Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks. Irving said he will use the time to recover and get more rest in a hope to nurse his injuries.
"I'm looking forward to (the timeout). These next days of rest are very vital to me to get ready for the Eastern Conference finals."
After Irving left the game, Matthew Dellavedova played the remaining 33 minutes in his place and delivered the best game of his career with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting as the Cavs pushed the lead to as much as 27 points.
Dellavedova is Australian and Irving was born in Australia.
"I couldn't be happier for anyone on our team, that's my Aussie brother right there," Irving said. "We do a lot of talking and encouraging. Man, I'm so happy for him."