Even if their best efforts, the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves by a score of 129-124. Darius Garland showed formidable performance on the court, and his contribution helped him to reach another level.
On Sunday, All-Star guard Darius Garland scored a career-high 51 points on 16-31 shooting from the field while also dishing out six assists (10-15 from beyond the arc).
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) November 14, 2022
Before Joel Embiid went off against the Utah Jazz and scored a season-high 59 points, Garland’s finest game ever was the League’s highest. Garland joins LeBron James (nine times), Kyrie Irving (twice), and Walt Wesley (one) as the only other players in Cavaliers history to score at least 50 points. James and Irving have both scored 57 points in a game for Cleveland.
Only Kyrie Irving and James Harden have scored more points at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse; thus, Garland came within four points of matching their record.
27 points in the final 12 minutes.@dariusgarland22 scored the most points in a 4th quarter by a single player in franchise history. #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/QsdBgw9qaC
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) November 14, 2022
“I didn’t even know I had 50 until I went to the bench,” Garland stated. “No one told me, and I wasn’t paying attention to anything except trying to win the game. That’s the great thing about this group of guys. No one cares about individual numbers. It’s all about the team.”
Because of Garland, Cleveland is in the race at all. By the end of the third quarter, the Cavaliers were already down 99–75; then, in the fourth, DG had a quarter for the record books.
The All-star exploded for 27 points in the fourth quarter, pushing the limits of the Minnesota defense with his deft ballhandling (4 for 6 from the top of the arc) and long-range shooting (6 for 12) to seal the victory.
Even though the Cavaliers dropped their fourth straight, they were without key players Donovan Mitchell (sore ankle) and Jarrett Allen (sprained ankle). On Wednesday, the Cavaliers will travel to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks in an attempt to end their losing run with their expected hope, Darius Garland.
