Mitchell-Garland Duo Scores Season-High 61 Points, Cavs Defeat Magic
The Cleveland Cavaliers put together a strong offensive showing on Wednesday night, as they defeated the Orlando Magic by a final score of 121-111 in a wire-to-wire victory.
Cleveland’s main source offense was their star backcourt duo of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland.
The tandem combined to score a season-high 61 points, which consisted of Mitchell scoring a team-high 35 points, and Garland contributing with 26. They shot a combined 22-for-42 (52.4%) from the field, and a combined 6-for-14 (42.9%) from three-point range.
Mitchell and Garland were also a considerable factor in the Cavaliers’ passing game. Garland tied his season-high with nine assists, while Mitchell dished out six assists, which were tied for the second-most on the team with Max Strus.
Individually, this was arguably the most effective performance of the season for Garland, as this was his first game this season in which he did not commit any turnovers.
After the game, Cleveland head coach J.B. Bickerstaff praised Garland’s efficiency and ability to positively impact his teammates’ performances.
“I give Darius a little bit of leeway because I know who he is. He’s an extremely efficient basketball player. So, we know those turnovers weren’t going to last. We know the impact that he can have on a game, and how he can orchestrate a game, make his teammates better. And that’s what this is about. His job is to not only take care of himself, but his job is to make this team go. And he did a great job of that tonight.”
The Wine and Gold got off to a fast start and did not look back, outscoring the Magic 37-20 in the first quarter. Mitchell led all players with 15 points in the period, and Garland led all players with three assists.