Kyrie Irving out for Sixers game with sore shoulder

Kyrie Irving will sit out Thursday's game against the Sixers with a sore left shoulder.

The All-Star guard underwent an MRI on the ailment over the past 24 hours and it came back clean. He is hoping to suit up for Sunday's game against the Magic, but elected to rest tonight to give it a chance to heal.   

"Just precautionary stuff and just making sure everything is alright from a strength perspective," Irving said before the game. "Obviously a few days will definitely put me where I need to be and we’ll just see what goes on for Sunday’s game. It’s nothing too crazy. It was just giving me a little discomfort over the past few weeks and I’ve just been playing through it, in terms of preparing best for every single game and I just felt it best to get a few tests and make sure everything’s alright."

Marcus Smart, who missed Thursday's practice due to illness, will start in Irving's place at point guard. Irving had one of his worst shooting nights of the season in Tuesday's loss to the Pelicans.

"Just gradual soreness," Irving said of how the shoulder had affected him. "Kind of going into my shot and driving left, just not feeling as confident as I’d like to be. I just thought it would be best just to take a day or two to get it evaluated and meet with our medical staff, meet with my strength and conditioning coach, and strengthen it up and then hopefully go on Sunday."