Darius Garland Wows NBA Twitter as Cavaliers Rout Ja Morant, Grizzlies
February 3, 2023
Darius Garland's 32-point, 11-assist outing propelled the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 128-113 home blowout victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday.
Garland shot 11-of-19 (4-of-6 from three-point range) and made all six of his free throws. His 14 first-quarter points set the tone early.
The ex-Vanderbilt star amassed 19 points and nine dimes by halftime to give Cleveland a 67-54 edge.
Memphis cut the Cavs' lead down to five points in the third quarter, but Cleveland pulled away down the stretch for the comfortable win despite a near triple-double from Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (24 points, eight assists, eight rebounds).
Garland did more than enough to put the team in winning position, an especially impressive feat on a night where star backcourt mate Donovan Mitchell struggled (six points, 2-of-11 shooting) before being ejected after 22 minutes following a fight with Dillon Brooks.
It was a remarkable performance against the Western Conference's second-place team. Garland led six Cavs in double-digit scoring on a night when the team shot 53.8 percent from the field and made 14-of-29 three-pointers.
Thursday also marked the announcement of this year's All-Star Game reserves, a list that Garland did not find himself on after making the contest last year.
Garland certainly made a case that he got snubbed on Thursday evening, and some folks on Twitter voiced their opinions on the matter while praising the star guard for a tremendous outing.
Chris Fedor @ChrisFedor<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cavs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cavs</a> Darius Garland with one of those take-your-All-Star-nod-and-shove-it performances in the first half. Garland with 19 and 9. Leading the offense on a night when Donovan Mitchell has just 3 points on 1 of 7 shooting.
Danny Cunningham @RealDCunningham<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cavs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cavs</a> win over Memphis 128-113. Darius Garland was special after not being selected to the All-Star game, Mobley and Allen were awesome, Cedi had a big night off the bench, Donovan Mitchell was ejected after taking a punch to the groin, and the Cavs get an impressive win.
Lucas Ruggiero @themailmanlukeHow did Darius Garland not make an all star team that's mind blowing the dude has been not just and all star but and actual star this season. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAAllStar?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAAllStar</a>
Garland and the 32-22 Cavs will enjoy a couple days off before heading to Indiana for a road matchup against the Pacers on Sunday.