Cavaliers' Darius Garland gets clowned after brutal chokejob in loss to Rockets
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The Cleveland Cavaliers have been a winning machine lately, and it looked like they had put themselves in an improbable position to pick up another victory on Wednesday night. After the Houston Rockets had taken a 13-point fourth quarter lead at home and seemed poised to close the Cavaliers out, but Kenny Atkinson and company had other ideas.
The Cavaliers stormed back to tie the game at 107 with just seconds remaining and had a chance to tie or win the game on the final possession with the Rockets leading 109-107. Bizarrely, Rockets forward Tari Eason fouled Darius Garland on a 3-point attempt, giving the Cavaliers sharpshooter a chance to tie or win the game at the line.
Garland came into the game shooting 90% from the stripe, so it seemed like a given that he would take care of business and send the Cavaliers home with a win, or at the very least force overtime. However, Garland shockingly missed the first two free throws before making the third, and the Rockets walked away with a 109-108 win.
Garland struggled at the free throw line all night, finishing 3-for-8 at the stripe in one of the worst free throw shooting performances you’ll ever see out of him. After the game, NBA fans took to social media to dunk on Garland for blowing the chance at a win.
“What a choke job by Garland wow how in the world did the Rockets escape that,” one fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Another fan added, “lol what an all time choke job from Darius Garland and the dude was literally smiling about the 2 misses. Cavs fans in shambles haha.”
Garland still had a good day in the box score, finishing the game with 26 points and five assists, but Cavaliers fans will only remember his rare shortcomings at the line that cost them the game at the end.
This loss drops the Cavaliers to 36-7 on the season, so there’s no reason to panic about a close loss to one of the top teams in the Western Conference on the road. However, this is the kind of loss that can stick with a team long after the game is over.
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