On November 19, the 15-0 Cleveland Cavaliers suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Boston Celtics.
It was seen as something of a moral victory for the Cavs, who showed they belonged with the defending champs as a title contender and managed to lose by only three points despite a truly abysmal night from Cavaliers star Darius Garland.
Hounded by the length and physicality of Jrue Holiday and Derrick White all game, Garland struggled to one of the worst shooting games of his career: eight points on 3-for-23 shooting from the field, including 0-for-6 from deep and an inexplicable 3-for-15 from 2-point range. Garland couldn't hit have hit Lake Erie from the dock on that night.
If something happens one time, you note it and move on. But Garland's poor offensive performance against the Celtics was part of a years-long trend, one that spoke to a mountain that Garland would have to climb for the Cavaliers to have any chance of defeating the Boston Celtics in the NBA playoffs.
Darius Garland often struggles against the Boston Celtics
Six times in Darius Garland's career, he has shot worse than 20 percent from the field. His worst game ever came in the first two weeks of his rookie season when he shot 0-for-10 against the Indiana Pacers. He has hit at least one field goal in every game he has played since.
Of those six games, however, a whopping four have come against one single team: the Boston Celtics. 1-for-9. 1-for-7. 2-for-11. And 3-for-21.
For whatever reason, the Celtics have had Garland's number. In 16 career games against the Celtics, Garland is shooting just 38.8 percent from the field and 34.6 percent from 3-point range. Compare that to 49.2 shooting overall and 38.9 shooting from deep in all games for his career. The Celtics were flummoxing him.
Until, that is, Sunday evening. The Cleveland Cavaliers came in just 2-3 in their last five games against a Celtics team that was white-hot and ready to take first place in the East. Did the Cavs fold? Did Garland struggle to hit shots again?
No and no. Instead, the Cavaliers hung with the Celtics all game long and pulled out the 115-111 victory. Boston was missing two starters, but the Cavs were missing one of their own in Max Strus as well as Dean Wade. Advantage Cleveland, but that's how the cookie crumbles sometimes.
Garland was confident all game long, scoring 22 points on 16 shooting-possessions and adding in eight assists, five rebounds and zero turnovers. He got into the paint consistently and generated eight free-throw attempts, and added a 4-for-6 line from distance to cap it off.
It wasn't a perfect game; no game against the Celtics and their elite perimeter defenders would be. Get free of Jrue Holiday and you face Jayson Tatum; get into the paint and it's Kristaps Porzingis with his impossibly long arms in the way.
What Garland proved, however, is that he is not defined by one matchup, and that he can have a good game against the Celtics. So can the Cavaliers, who in winning the game successfully defended first place in the Eastern Conference and moved to 18-3 on the season.
There is still a lot of basketball to be played this season, and a potential playoff matchup in the Eastern Conference Finals is a maybe mixed in a dream. Yet if it comes to pass, Garland and the Cavaliers now have evidence to back their belief that they can take on anyone. Even the champs.