Cavs' Love out 2 months with broken hand, avoids surgery

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kevin Love dodged surgery. The Cavaliers were hit hard.

The All-Star forward, who was recently at the center of some team turmoil, will miss two months because of a broken left hand. Love fractured the fifth metacarpal Tuesday night during a loss at Detroit, and his injury is just the latest mishap for the Cavs, who are coming off a sub-par January.

It was expected that Love would need an operation to repair the break, but after Cleveland's medical staff consulted with doctors at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery, it was determined Love can recover without any procedure. He had surgery on his left hand in 2009 while with Minnesota and still has three screws in place.

The timetable for Love's return means he'll miss all but the final two weeks of the regular season. The team's second-leading scorer and top rebounder won't have much time to get ready for the playoffs. But with the way the Cavs are playing, it's questionable how far they can go.

Cleveland (30-20) is coming off a bumpy month in which the Eastern Conference champions went 6-8 and were blown out in several losses, leading to finger-pointing between teammates. During a recent team meeting, Love was questioned by some Cleveland players for leaving a loss against Oklahoma City and then missing practice the next day.