Darius Garland believes the Cleveland Cavaliers were lucky to win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. Cleveland won 114-106, preventing Milwaukee from winning its third straight.
“I think earlier in the season we probably gave that game away,” Garland said. “I think we had a really good feeling. And I think they cut four in the fourth and I think that’s when everybody started to panic a little bit on the stage; you can feel the tension a lot.”
According to several NBA betting sites, the Cavaliers have the ninth-best odds to win the championship in 2023. Sportsbooks are showing better odds for the Brooklyn Nets and Bucks.
of #caves Earlier in the season, they weren’t the best at controlling the best shots from other teams. They grew up in that environment, and that showed Wednesday.
Darius Garland: “I think we may have given that game away earlier in the season.” https://t.co/ZbH0lHO7CM— Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) December 22, 2022
Although Cleveland started the season 8-1, the team dropped its next five contests. Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff is striving for consistency. For the first time since the 2017-18 season, they will begin to look like an intermediate competition.
Darius Garland finished with 23 points, four rebounds, two steals and one steal in 37 minutes. He finished 9-of-19 (47.4%) shooting from the field and 2-5 (40%) from beyond the arc. The Cavs are now on a five-game winning streak.
Darius Garland said the Cavaliers could have lost to the Bucks if the game had been played earlier.
Donovan Mitchell finished with a team-high 36 points in 37 minutes. Along with recording four boards, six assists and two steals, the guard shot 9-of-21 (42.9%) from the floor and knocked down three 3-pointers. So far this season, Mitchell and Darius Garland have been the deadliest duo.
After the win, Mitchell said: “You go up 20 and 21 with a team like this, it’s hard to put them down.” “They will continue to fight. There’s no way they’re trying to send a message to a team like this, especially to an Eastern Conference opponent.
Spida scored like 36 PTS. @cavs Raise the house!
Darius Garland: 23 PTS, 4 REB
Giannis: 45 PTS, 14 REB, 4 ASTFor more, download the NBA app:
📲 https://t.co/WFdLNEATbY pic.twitter.com/2q24PBnG0J— NBA (@NBA) December 22, 2022
Cleveland led 60-42 at halftime. After a quick basket, the home team opened the third quarter with a 24-point lead, its largest of the game. They also outscored the Bucks 54-46 in the paint.
In 27 starts this season, Darius Garland is averaging 20.7 points, 2.7 boards, 7.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Not to mention, he shot 43.2% from the floor and 38.2% from 3-point range. And the guard added a career total of eight double-doubles.
Additionally, this was Cleveland’s first win of the season series against Milwaukee. The Cavaliers lost 113-98 on November 16 and 117-102 nine days later. They now host the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.
