Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell Out for Thursday's Game Against Houston Rockets

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without their top star for tonight's matchup with the Houston Rockets. Donovan Mitchell was a late addition to the NBA's Thursday injury report and has been officially declared out with groin soreness.

#Cavs Donovan Mitchell (groin) is OUT tonight against Houston, sources tell @clevelanddotcom. Kevin Love (back spasms) is also OUT, sources sayhttps://t.co/fQMP2KVTC1
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) January 26, 2023

Mitchell has been fairly sturdy this season, appearing in 41 of a possible 49 games. However, he has clearly hit a run of bad luck lately: he missed three straight games earlier in the month with a groin injury before making a brief return on Tuesday to face the New York Knicks, playing 38 minutes and scoring 24 points. He appears to have aggravated the injury.

Already a star with the Utah Jazz, Mitchell has levelled up since joining the Cavalier via trade ahead of the 2022-23 season. The three-time All Star is averaging career highs in points per game (28.3), true shooting percentage (.620), and minutes played per game (36.2). His high-level play has the Cavaliers 29-20 and fifth in the Eastern Conference standings, with their best winning percentage since the days of LeBron James.

The Cavaliers will travel to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder in the second game of a back-to-back on Friday night.