The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road, 107-102. But while the impressive come-from-behind win was a team effort, Darius Garland stole the show and proved exactly why he deserves to be an All-Star this season.
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road Saturday, 107-102. But while the impressive come-from-behind win was a team effort, Darius Garland stole the show and proved exactly why he deserves to be an All-Star this season.
The Thunder, another struggling team on the schedule, took advantage of the Cavs' fatigue in their second game of a back-to-back and the final game on the six-game road trip, outscoring Cleveland in the first and second quarters and gaining an 18-point lead heading into the second half. Garland has blossomed into a dominant guard in the NBA this season, averaging 19.5 points, 7.5 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. His passing and scoring has been phenomenal—finding opportunities for his teammates in any situation, facilitating the offense with ease and taking over when the team needs him most.
"He's got a burning desire to go out and win basketball games," Bickerstaff said."He's determined to win basketball games and there's a fire that's within him to go get the job done."