The hottest team in the NBA came into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse last night, but the Cleveland Cavaliers were still favored in their showdown with the Brooklyn Nets. There is plenty of juice in this matchup, with the Nets winning the Play-In Tournament over the Cavs last season and coming in with former Cavalier Kyrie Irving in the lineup.
The Nets shot the lights out, hitting 60 percent of their 3-pointers, and both Kyrie and Kevin Durant scored 32 points. Ben Simmons was everywhere but at the rim, scoring just four points but adding nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals. The Cavs got a second-consecutive off-night from Donovan Mitchell, who went 5-of-16 for 15 points.
They came back into contact late in this game, however, because Darius Garland was simply fantastic. He scored 46 points on 14-of-20 shooting, with a season-high 13 free throws, eight assists and was a +6 on the night in 40 minutes; the Cavs lost the other eight minutes by 14 minutes. That’s two-straight losses for the Cavs after ascending to the top of the league, and they are now fourth in the East as the Nets have passed them for third place.
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Last night was Garland’s second game of at least 45 points; he went off for 51 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this season. Devin Booker is the only player in the league to hit 45 points at least three times, and both Joel Embiid and Stephen Curry have hit the mark twice. Garland’s ability to erupt is a dangerous weapon for the Cavs, although it is interesting to note both times Garland has cleared 45 points were in losses. That’s a small-sample-size fact, not an indictment of Garland, who was tremendous last night.
Garland and the Cavs played on December 26th because they were not a part of the Christmas Day slate. Donovan Mitchell hopes that changes next season, and on the site Dan Gilinsky discussed Mitchell’s hopeful pitch in more detail.
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It was a bit of a topsy-turvy night in the association last night. The San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets both logged upset victories, while the Detroit Pistons pushed the LA Clippers to overtime. The Miami Heat won to get back to .500, and the Indiana Pacers lost to fall back to it, further scrunching the play-in mix in the East.
It was also announced yesterday that Sacramento Kings center (and potential All-Star) had fractured his thumb. It is an injury that he will attempt to play through, and given how fun the Kings have been to watch this season we all hope it will not affect his play in any meaningful way.
Coming up: The Cleveland Cavaliers hit the road to play the Pacers in Indiana on Thursday.