Donovan Mitchell has sucked up a lot of the oxygen in the room when it comes to covering the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is not only the new guy on the team but has stepped in as their best, dropping 71 points and establishing himself as an All-NBA player.
That has made it easy for Darius Garland to slip under the radar, and those not paying close attention may think that Garland is having a poor season, or taken a step back. That is absolutely not the case; the All-Star guard is one of the NBA’s most talented passers and perimeter creators, and he showed that on Monday afternoon.
On a day when the nation took time to reflect on the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., the Cavaliers welcomed a New Orleans Pelicans team to town that is both short-handed and yet still very dangerous. The Pelicans rode hot-shooting and some Cavaliers turnovers to an early lead, and then in the third quarter Donovan Mitchell left the game and never returned.
That put the fate of this game in Garland’s hands, and he did not disappoint. He orchestrated the offense as well as any conducted, manipulating the Pelicans’ defense and hitting his teammates in the perfect place to score. He then took the shots himself down the stretch, keying an 11-0 run to start the fourth quarter and nailing some big 3-pointers to end it for a 113-103 victory.
Garland finished the game with 30 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. Jarrett Allen had 24 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, working as Garland’s pick-and-roll partner and hitting teammates in the short roll when the defense adjusted. Evan Mobley had 19 points himself as the Cavs moved to 28-17, just a half-game back of the second-place Brooklyn Nets.
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Donovan Mitchell left Monday’s game with a groin injury, and there has not been further information on the severity yet. It’s an encouraging sign that he came back out on the bench and was hopping up to celebrate without any obvious signs of discomfort, so the hope is that his absence was precautionary and he can avoid a long-term absence. Still, it’s likely he will miss at least a game or two, which will probably mean Caris LeVert elevates into the starting lineup.
Here on the site this morning we discussed the rumored three-team trade that NBA Insider Marc Stein reported the Cavaliers have talked about, which would send Caris LeVert to the Atlanta Hawks, John Collins to the Utah Jazz and Malik Beasley to the Cavaliers. Is it a deal worth taking for the Cavs?
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The NBA’s stars were on display on Monday, with basketball starting at lunchtime and going until late. Jayson Tatum kicked things off with 51 points in a matinee explosion, only the fourth player in NBA history to hit that mark on MLK Day. Then it was Stephen Curry scoring 41 points to push the Golden State Warriors to a win over the Washington Wizards the day before the defending champions visit the White House.
In the nightcap, LeBron James scored 48 points to will the Los Angeles Lakers to a win over a Houston Rockets team that refused to go away. That scoring binge puts LeBron at 38,072 points, just 316 behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for first-place all-time. He’s on track to break the record sometime in February.
Coming up: The Cleveland Cavaliers fly down to Memphis to take on the red-hot Grizzlies on Wednesday night.