Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland left Monday nights 140-138 overtime loss to the Miami Heat early due to a toe injury, sparking fears that he had re-aggravated an injury that had sidelined him for months throughout the offseason.
The issue on Monday appeared to stem from a fall Garland took in the second quarter at the Kaseya Center. He was driving to the rim and got twisted up before falling down underneath, which led to him coming up slowly after the foul. Garland was clearly in some pain after that fall with Nokola Jovic on him, but he remained in the game.
Garland was then seen limping and moving awkwardly again in the second half. He drew another foul off Norman Powell midway through the third quarter, and then immediately started hopping on his right leg. He eventually limped off the floor and went to the locker room.
The Cavaliers then ruled Garland out with a left toe injury, and said hed be evaluated further after the game. Specifics, including which toe Garland injured, are not yet known.
The Cavaliers only activated Garland last week, and he made his season debut on Wednesday. He underwent surgery in June to repair a left toe injury that had limited him significantly in the playoffs. Garland spent all offseason recovering, and even had a short stint with the teams G League affiliate before rejoining the Cavaliers this fall.
Garland averaged 20.6 points, 6.7 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game last season while shooting just better than 40% from the 3-point line. He had 20 points and nine assists in their 33-point win over the Washington Wizards on Friday night, but he missed their win over the Chicago Bulls the following day.
Though Evan Mobley hit a late 3-pointer to put the Cavaliers ahead in the fourth quarter, it was Jaime Jaquez Jr. that responded with a game-tying bucket that eventually forced overtime. The Heat were close to pulling away in the extra period, too, but Donovan Mitchell drilled a wild second-chance 3-pointer from the corner with less than a second left.
That bucket tied the game back up with just 0.4 seconds left.
But that’s when the Heat ran what was an absolutely perfect, easy inbounds play from the sidelines.
Jovic lobbed the ball in right over the rim and set up Andrew Wiggins who was completely wide open for a simple dunk right before the buzzer sounded. The play couldn’t have been any simpler.
Powell led the way with 33 points for the Heat after he shot 8-of-19 from the field. Wiggins had 23 points, and Jacquez added 22 points and 13 rebounds off the bench. The win pushed Miami to 7-4 on the season.
Mitchell had 28 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Cavaliers in the loss. De’Andre Hunter added 23 points, and Evan Mobley finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Head coach Kenny Atkinson was ejected in the second half, too, after he got into it with referee Scott Foster and picked up his second technical foul of the night.
The loss snapped a four-game win streak for the Cavaliers, who now also sit at 7-4. They’ll be back in action next on Wednesday for another game against the Heat in South Florida.
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