1 stud and 1 dud for Cavs from near-comeback against Timberwolves

Cavs stud: Darius Garland

For the Cavaliers stud, I’m going out on a limb here, in giving that to Darius Garland.

In a game where the Cavs didn’t seem to have it, if you will, for much of the outing, Garland did enough to keep the team at least in the ball park, and then went off in the fourth.

Garland finished with a career-high 51 points, which was a season-high league-wide, prior to Joel Embiid’s 59-point outing to come last night as well. Garland connected on 10 three-point shots, and registered 13 free throw attempts. He had 27 fourth quarter points, too, which were the most in a quarter individually in Cavs history (per Cavs Notes), and he helped will the Cavaliers back into this game.

With Mitchell and Allen out in this one, one had to imagine Garland would be shooting a bunch, and well, that’s what occurred.

His range, quickness, in-between game and his ability to separate were all on display on Sunday, and he tacked on six assists as well, and had Cleveland been more on-point in the first half, Garland could’ve had better playmaking splits.

Generally, though, after a three-game span where he had struggles as a scorer, it was good to see DG light it up again. He’s still shaking some rust off with the prior eye ailment and more recently, him being under the weather, but with more time with Mitchell and others, I still firmly believe Garland will be fine.

And this last game could be a big step forward for him in getting back on track after a brutal stretch.