3 Cavs that must have big Game 3s to wrest series control from Knicks

No. 2: Darius Garland

Secondly, it’s imperative the Cavaliers receive quality play from Darius Garland as the series shifts to MSG. There’s been much different play between Games 1 and 2 thus far in the series from Garland.

In Game 1, Garland had 17 points and shot seven-of-13 from the field, which were the positives. Unfortunately, he had an assist-to-turnover of ratio of one-five in that one, was having problems with New York’s traps and in the second half, he passed up some shots that could’ve helped him have more of an imprint on the game.

Then, in Game 2, Garland came out firing, and was a completely different player. He exploded for 26 points in the first half on Tuesday night, and canned four three-point shots. It wasn’t nearly the same after halftime, but Garland didn’t play much in the fourth quarter, as it wasn’t needed with Cleveland having a significant lead, and in the second half, he did have four assists.

Overall, Garland finished out with 32 points and seven assists, and shot six-of-10 from three-point range. His aggression and attack mindset led to him getting to the free throw line 11 times as well, of which he cashed in on 10 of those. Tuesday’s game was the kind of one that could jumpstart Garland in this series, and hopefully, for a deep playoff run.

It’s tough to be forecasting Garland to have a repeat 30-plus-point performance in Game 3 in his first road playoff game, but the Cavaliers need for him to have the utmost confidence as a shooter and in the same breadth, consistently make good decisions. He was much better in Game 2, although he did have four turnovers.

Generally speaking, if Garland is assertive, and plays his game, that should likely lead to Cleveland being in good shape in Friday’s contest.