Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 best moments to this point of the 2019-20 season

#2: Darius Garland leads the way in Denver

This was the second game of a then-Cavs’ six-game road trip in January, and while the Nuggets were returning from a five-game road trip of their own, it was still a really impressive win and in particular, Darius Garland killed it.

In this one, the Cavaliers were controlling the play much of the game, and heading into the fourth quarter, had an 85-71 lead, as noted by ESPN.

Unfortunately, the Wine and Gold would end up having a rough stretch in the fourth, which teams playing so many young minutes big minutes tend to do, but what made this game memorable was how Garland, and also Sexton responded.

Garland, who had 18 points on eight-of-16 shooting, had six big points in the fourth, and Sexton, who had 25 points on nine-of-18 shooting, had nine huge points in the closing period, too, as indicated by Basketball Reference. Garland was playing at a really nice pace for the vast majority of this one, too, and he flashed his passing vision and tool box, with eight assists.

What really jumped out, though, was Garland’s calm demeanor to close out down the stretch. He took advantage of a few favorable switches, and knocked in a much-needed bucket with 2:05 left, and then pretty much put the Cavs in the driver’s seat with a floater to bring the lead to 107-101 with 1:28 left.

This was I’d say DG’s best game thus far of his rookie season, and showed to me a glimpse of why he’s a very promising piece for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ future with his handle, passing vision and potential to be a big-time shot creator. Of course, he’s been inconsistent, but I’m optimistic that he can put it together with more experience.

Lastly, the best moment of this season to this point for the Cavs came in their February 24 game against the Miami Heat.