Darius Garland’s late-game heroics lift Cavs to sloppy 132-126 win over Raptors

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said before Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder that such a big game wasn’t hard to motivate his players for. It was battles like this courage Toronto Raptors the following night it was the challenge.

That proved to be true as the Cavs understandably didn’t come out with the focus they had the previous night. They turned out to be people and not the ruthless basketball playing machines they’ve seemingly been all season. It didn’t help that they didn’t have Donovan Mitchell, who typically helps provide energy in games that otherwise lack it.

The Cavs trailed by 11 points in the second quarter before closing 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 going into the fourth quarter.

Darius Garland was a big reason why the offense was so good. He continued 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 when the Cavs desperately needed a spark.

His ability to orchestrate the attack is what was most impressive on a night like this. He got his points, but also made sure everyone else on the list ate too. His willingness to move the ball and then move away from it allowed that to happen.

Garland carried the offense down the stretch. He scored or assisted on Cleveland’s final five field goals, hit the game-sealing three with 40 seconds left, and then iced the game at the line as the crowd loudly chanted “MVP.” Garland finished with 40 points on 14-22 shooting with 9 assists and 2 steals.

The late-game heroics were nothing new for Garland. He has been one of the most clutch players in the NBA this season coming into the game. 66.7% from the floor in games that were within five points in the final five minutes. Tonight he scored just 14 points and picked up 3 helpers in the final frame.

Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen also had impressive encore shows. Mobley delivered 21 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Allen added 18 points and 15 boards.

The defense was never good tonight. But it doesn’t matter when the offense is this good.

Great teams come to play night in and night out. The Cavs showed again that they are, even if this wasn’t their best performance. Still, this one counts the same in the record books as yesterday’s impressive win.