Cavs: 1 stud, 1 dud from win over Portland Trail Blazers

Cavs: 1 stud from win – Darius Garland

Line: 19 points, 10 assists, 5-of-6 on 3-pointers

Darius Garland has had something of an inconsistent start to the season given that he missed two games due to an ankle injury and took another game to get his legs under him. Outside of that trio of games he has been one of the Cavs’ best players, elevating their play even when his shot wasn’t falling.

Wednesday night his shot was falling, and it was electric to watch. Garland was nailing 3-pointers, including a couple of tough looks off-the-dribble. Only four players in the entire league have had a better shooting night on as many attempts or more — interestingly enough, one of those also coming against Portland when Luke Kennard went 6-for-7. Check out his fearlessness to close the third:

The Cavs have struggled from 3-point range this season (more on that later) and then they reset their season standings in one hot night, hitting 15 of their 30 3-point attempts on the night. Garland was a significant part of that, setting up teammates and drawing the defense to himself with the threat of pulling up at any time.

This was the third time this season that Garland has had double-digit assists, lifting his season average to 7.9 assists per game. In all of last season he hit double-digit assists just six times, and just once as a rookie. His growth as a passer and playmaker is palpable and it’s why he looks poised to be the other pillar of this franchise alongside Evan Mobley for years to come.

This was Garland’s best game of the season, and it came at the perfect time, against a counterpart in Damian Lillard who is currently where Garland hopes to be. On this night, it was Darius Time.