CLEVELAND: Kyrie Irving says he didn’t have the flu. He had bed bugs.
Irving left in the first quarter of the Cavs’ victory at Oklahoma City on Sunday with what the team called “flu-like symptoms.” Irving, however, said those symptoms were caused by bed bugs from his Skirvin Hilton hotel room in Oklahoma City and even pointed out a bite on his forehead.
“Just imagine how freaked out you’d be if you saw friggin five, big ass bed bugs just sitting on your pillow,” Irving said. “I woke up itching and I’m just looking around and I’m like, ‘Are you serious right now?’ It was 3 a.m. and I was so tired at that point.”
Irving said he spent much of the night on the couch in his hotel room and slept a total of about three hours. Then he started feeling nauseous during the game.
Irving said other teammates struggled through the night, too.
“It is what it is. I feel like I got the worst of it,” Irving said. “I wound up sleeping on the couch, waking up my back was tight. It was a long night.”
Irving caught up on some sleep after returning home and played in Monday’s 96-88 loss to the Detroit Pistons without incident. He scored 30 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs’ winning streak ended at five games.