Cavaliers sit Kevin Love (back)
— -- LOS ANGELES -- Kevin Love sat out the Cleveland Cavaliers' 126-121 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night because of a sore back.
Love was ruled out after warm-ups. "He played through a lot of pain last night and some pretty serious stiffness," Blatt said Friday.
It was the second time in the last couple of weeks that Love missed a game because of his back. He originally sat out the Cavs' 96-80 loss to Milwaukee on Dec. 31 with the same ailment after suffering back spasms the night before that limited him in a loss to Atlanta.
Love, a Los Angeles-area native, managed to produce 17 points and seven rebounds in 37 minutes in the Cavs' 109-102 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday despite tweaking his back just before tipoff.
"It happened literally right before our name was about to be called before the game," Love said Thursday night. "I just stood up fast and it just bit on me. But it was something that if I kept warm I was able to be out there and still play. I tried to be as effective as possible."
Love not only battled through his back injury against the Lakers but took a charge against Jeremy Lin in the fourth quarter.
"The play of the game," Cavs coach David Blatt said Thursday. "The play of the game, the charge that Kevin took."
Cavs forward Tristan Thompson started in Love's place against the Clippers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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