By james art 
Darius Garland and Jaylen Suggs exchanged a few words during the first-round series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic last season. Most notably, their Game 4 showdown that spurred a run for Orlando that resulted in a win for them.
Garland tried to play down any animosity between the two after Cleveland’s win on Friday.
“I don’t think it’s a rivalry,” Garland said. “You all gassed him. I don’t think it’s a rivalry, but he’s a great player. Well done to him. He got paid this summer. He’ll just get better. But [I] don’t think of it as a rivalry.
Jalen Suggs may see things differently. At least as far as these two teams are concerned.
“I just didn’t want to lose here to be honest,” Suggs said. “I didn’t want to quit the game. I didn’t want to face that reality. . . . Those losses hurt.”
Both players led their teams in scoring. Suggs contributed 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Garland scored 25 points in 29 minutes with four assists in what has been a solid start to his season.
“He plays with swing,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said of Garland. “It drives this floating mechanism. . . . He took nine 3-pointers. I said, “We needed one more. We need 10.’ . . . [He’s a] hell of a player. He plays really well.”
Garland looked like a completely different player than the one we saw in their playoff meeting. He plays with a level of freedom and joy that didn’t exist last spring. Garland is a big reason why the Cavs currently have the third best offense in the league.
While Garland may want to play down the rivalry between him and Suggs, something is brewing between these two teams. Especially with how Cavs fans booed Mo Wagner throughout Friday’s game and his comments about not liking it afterward. The Cavs and Magic meet twice more during the regular season.