By james art 
Darius Garland is a 90% shooter with free throws.
It didn’t matter on Wednesday night. Cleveland’s point guard had a chance to give his cavaliers a lead at the free throw line by 2.1 seconds left against Houston missiles. But he missed free throws from back to ensure a win of 109-108 rockets.
With Garland’s missing, the missiles survived a Cleveland rally of an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit and a clear foul on 3-point attempt, which put Garland on the line with a chance to win it in the last seconds.
Missile crashes, have luck
The rockets entered the fourth quarter with a lead 94-83 at home. The cavaliers gathered for the lead 104-98, before the rockets acquired a lead of 109-107 with 4.1 seconds. The cavaliers called Timeout and put an incoming game for Garland’s 3-Indicator at the other end of the court.
Works to perfection. Garland opened to 3 of the wing, and Tari Aison fouled it during his shooting movement.
The officials looked at the play and upgraded the Fowle to Due 1. Arson landed under Garland’s feet and did not give him room for a safe landing.
He added up to three free throws and possession for CAVS, as they gave up two points with 2.8 seconds remaining. In Garland, he sent his best shooter to free throws to the line. It was a crash for missiles. Or it looked like it.
When he reached the line, Garland did not deliver. He missed his first of the three free throws, but still had a chance to tie the game with his next two.
Then he missed the second.
He delivered to the third, but it simply reduced Houston’s lead to 109-108.
The cavaliers still had a chance to win because of the unfavorable foul. They kept their possession and set an incoming game for an attempt to win a game of Donovan Mitchell from the corner. But Amen Thompson got a hand in Mitchell’s face and his shot was far from the target.
The missiles were held for one of the least likely victories for the season against the best team at the Eastern Conference.