By james art The Cleveland Cavaliers saw it all in the first week of the season. They beat all three of their first opponents and had a +61 point differential through their first three games.
Nothing came easy for the Wine and Gold against the New York Knicks, but the result was the same as the Cavaliers earned a 110-106 win for their fourth straight to open the season.
There was a lot to like about this win, including Cleveland’s 13-point comeback in the third quarter. However, the best part of the game was the phenomenal performance of Darius Garland.
DG finished with 34 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks while shooting 63 percent (12-for-19) from the floor and (62 percent (5-for-8) from behind the arc.
Garland admitted it felt good to win one on the road against the Knicks, who have become Cleveland’s archrival over the past few seasons. “It feels good to come into the garden and win. There’s nothing better than that. To come to Mecca and steal one on their court was good,” DG said after the match.
While Garland undeniably had an incredible game on offense against the Knicks, Cleveland’s head coach wanted to focus on his key defensive stops in the final minutes of the game.
After a sluggish start to the team’s early season, Garland has been sensational through the first few games of the new year. DG was fresh off the most efficient performance of his entire NBA career entering their contest against the Knicks. He followed that up by scoring in one game since March 8 last season, scoring 34 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
There were so many questions early in the season about what a healthy Garland would look like after an injury-riddled season. The early return of this was the re-emergence of the All-Star point guard we saw just a few years ago.