Cavaliers Star Redeems Himself In Comeback Win Over Celtics

Cleveland's Darius Garland avenged his woeful November performance against Boston on Sunday night.

Dec 1, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) shoots in the third quarter against the Boston Celtics at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

Back on November 19, the Cleveland Cavaliers suffered their first loss of the season to the Boston Celtics, falling on the road by a score of 120-117.

A main reason for this defeat was the performance of Darius Garland, who shot just 3-for-21 (14.3%) from the field and failed to convert any of his six three-point attempts.

However, on Sunday night, the star point guard was a reason why the Cavaliers earned a 115-111 comeback victory in a rematch against Boston at home.

Garland scored 22 points, shooting 5-for-12 (41.7%) from the field and an efficient 4-for-6 (66.7%) from three-point range. He also went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line, which included four free throws within the game's final 14 seconds.

Dec 1, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) shoots in the third quarter against the Boston Celtics at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

Garland was also the Wine and Gold's main facilitator, dishing out a game-high eight assists and not committing a single turnover. This performance marks his second spotless game of the season, joining his November 2 outing against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Defensively, with the game tied 101-101 and under 90 seconds remaining, Garland and Isaac Okoro forced star Celtics forward Jayson Tatum to miss a potential go-ahead floater. This stop led to Donovan Mitchell converting his own go-ahead floater at the other end of the floor, which gave the Cavaliers a 103-101 lead with 1:07 left, which they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. This was their first advantage since leading 61-60 with 9:04 left in the third quarter.

Up next, Cleveland will continue its three-game homestand against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday, December 3 at 7 p.m. in their final NBA Cup Group Play game of the season.