Darius Garland’s late-game heroics lift Cavs in sloppy 132-126 win over Raptors
Another All-Star performance led the Cavaliers to their 12th straight victory.
Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said before Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder that a big matchup like that wasn’t hard to motivate his players for. It was games like this one against the Toronto Raptors the following night that was the challenge.
That proved to be true as the Cavs understandably didn’t come out with the level of focus they had the previous night. They showed to be humans and not the ruthless basketball-playing machines they’ve been seemingly all season. It didn’t help that they didn’t have Donovan Mitchell who typically helps provide energy in games that are otherwise lacking that.
The Cavs fell down by 11 points in the second quarter before closing out the period strong to tie the game. Cleveland then completely took their foot off the gas in the third as they gave up 42 points in that frame. The defense was a step too slow at every turn. Fortunately, their prolific offense kept them within reach entering the fourth quarter.
Darius Garland was a big reason why the offense was so good. He picked up right where he left off in yesterday’s impressive showing against Oklahoma City. He consistently got wherever he wanted to on the court during a night the Cavs desperately needed a spark.
His ability to orchestrate the offense is what was most impressive on a night like this. He got his points but also made sure everyone else on the roster ate as well. His willingness to move the ball, and then move off of it allowed it to happen.
Garland carried the offense down the stretch. He scored or assisted on Cleveland’s last five field goals, hit the game-sealing three with 40 seconds left, and then iced the game at the line with the crowd loudly chanting “MVP.” Garland finished with 40 points on 14-22 shooting with 9 assists and 2 steals.
The late-game heroics weren’t anything new for Garland. He’s been one of the most clutch players in the NBA this season as he came into the game shooting 66.7% from the floor in games that were within five points in the last five minutes. Tonight, he just scored 14 points and picked up 3 helpers in the final frame.
Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen also had impressive encore showings. Mobley provided 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists. Allen added 18 points and 15 boards.
The defense was never good tonight. But that doesn’t matter when the offense is this good.
Great teams come to play night in and night out. The Cavs once again showed that they are that even if this wasn’t their best performance. Still, this one counts the same in the record book as yesterday’s impressive win.