Darius Garland’s 21 points in the first three quarters gave the Cavaliers a nine-point lead heading into Game 6, but the point guard made one critical mistake in the final minutes and lost his first game in Cleveland on Friday. The chances of victory were ruined.
With just over three minutes left in the fourth quarter, after the Cavaliers recovered a rebound, Garland dribbled his way to the back corner near the bench and began slowly advancing the ball.
Garland then started toward the left side of the court.
His course then changed horizontally towards the center.
Just as he was about to cross the center line, the referee blew his whistle, signaling an eight-second violation.
The Magic ultimately didn’t score in the next sequence after getting the ball back, but the Cavaliers were down by five points at that point and lost possession to cut into Orlando’s lead. In the end, they lost 103-96 and the series ended. They returned to Cleveland for Game 7, wasting Donovan Mitchell’s 50-point masterpiece.
Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters about the Cavaliers’ turnovers in the final frame, “…our seven turnovers were opportunities we didn’t realize.” “So we’re going to take care of the basketball and rebound the basketball and give ourselves a good chance.”
Garland, who also had six rebounds, five assists and two steals, appeared surprised as he held out his hands as Franz Wagner pumped his fist after an eight-second violation.
Max Strus initially grabbed the rebound after missing a Magic free throw.
After Orlando star Paolo Banchero stole the ball from Strauss, the shot clock appeared to be reset, even though it was a second or two before Garland picked up the loose ball.
“Garland is like, ‘Okay, I just got the ball,’ but the clock is already three deep,” ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson said on the show. “The clock says he’s already three seconds deep. So he’s not even aware of it.”
The Cavaliers cut the deficit to three points on their next offensive possession when Mitchell (who attempted 36 shots and made 22 of them, scoring all of Cleveland’s points in the fourth inning) hit a shot. , I couldn’t get even one step closer. The last three minutes.
So Cleveland, who won by a narrow one-point margin — lost twice to the Magic in Games 3 and 4 and needed a last-minute block from Evan Mobley to survive in Game 5 — Cleveland. gave them a chance to wrap up their first playoff series victory since Game 2. In the 2018 Finals, the Cavaliers need to win Game 7 on Sunday to set up a second-round matchup with the Celtics.
