The Cavaliers suffered an ugly loss Monday night, as the Spurs swept them away with ease, winning 103-74. As a result, the Cavs are now second in the Eastern Conference, falling half-a-game behind the Boston Celtics for the No. 1 seed. 

And to add injury to insult, LeBron James left the contest late in the third quarter after taking an elbow from David Lee right to the spine. It didn’t look like much at first, as Lee came down with a rebound and his elbow made contact with LeBron. 

Even though it wasn’t some sort of brutal shot from Lee, the neck and spine are a very sensitive area, and just one blow to the wrong spot can be devastating. Fortunately for the Cavs, this doesn’t appear as if it’ll turn into a long-term problem. 

The Cavs forward never made it down to the other side of the floor, however, as he crumpled to the ground in serious pain near mid-court. He left for the locker room shortly after, and didn’t return to the game, which, seeing as it was essentially over at that point, made a lot of sense.