Cavs' Darius Garland's clutch explosion secures win over Nets

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Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland had been searching for his shot for weeks. Ever since taking a hard fall against the New York Knicks, the Cavs guard has struggled, averaging just 16.7 points on 34.4% shooting over his last six games. Early into the Cleveland’s home tilt against the Brooklyn Nets, it unfortunately felt like more of the same.

Through three quarters, Garland had just 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. The Cavs, missing Donovan Mitchell, needed a spark. But Garland kept shooting, trusting his game, and in the fourth quarter, everything changed.

"Aggressiveness," Garland said. "I was just taking the double team at first. Then in the fourth, I just had to start shooting the ball a little bit more. Being aggressive and trying to make plays for my teammates. That's the difference."

Mr. Fourth Quarter was alive for the Cavs against the Nets

Trailing by as many as 18 points, Garland took over in the final frame for Cleveland. The shots that had eluded him suddenly started falling. He scored 18 of his 30 points in the final period, leading the Cavs to a 109-104 comeback victory over the Nets.

"That's the D.G. we all know," Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said afterward. "That's been him 95% of the season. Went through a little slump. But [it] was a great game to get him going. With Don out, he knew he had to take more on. I think that'll spark him and he'll be on his way to play great basketball again."

The win marked Cleveland's 15th straight victory, tying the franchise record and clinching the Central Division title, the team’s first since the 2017-18 season.

"Division champions is pretty cool," Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said postgame. "I know us old school guys, we like that. Maybe not so much for the new generation, but that means something. We'll put a banner up in our practice facility, Koby just told me, so that's pretty cool. But 15 in a row … and to do it at this juncture of the season with fatigue and teams like Brooklyn coming here playing super hard and people trying to knock us off. It's really quite an accomplishment.

"We want bigger things, and we all know we want the playoffs, but I think we'll look back on this and say it's a pretty incredible accomplishment."

Darius Garland has become the NBA’s most clutch player

Garland, now one of the NBA's most clutch players, shined against the Nets. He’s tied for ninth in total clutch points, scored in the final five minutes of close games, shooting 58.7% from the field, 57.1% from three, and 87.9% from the free-throw line in those situations.

That wasn't always the case. Last season, Garland struggled late in games, shooting just 28.9% in the clutch with a poor assist-to-turnover ratio. In those moments, the Cavs were a middling team outscored by 5.3 points per 100 possessions. However, this season, they've been dominant. Cleveland leads the NBA with a clutch net rating of 37.9, and Garland has been a major factor.

"Failure, being knocked down makes you better," Atkinson said. "From my perspective, (Garland) has been stellar from Game 1. He's got everything. The character, the skills, the shooting. And this is with Donovan, too. They are elite free throw shooters. You need to make free throws at the end of the game. That helps you close out games."

Despite his struggles, Garland has learned from them and turned it into his motivation.  A year ago, he was working through inconsistency. Now, he's the closer the Cavs need.

With 15 straight wins and a division title in hand, Cleveland is proving it belongs among the league's elite. And with Garland leading the way, they may just have the ultimate weapon to take them even further.

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