The Cavs refuse to give up and score 40 in the 4th quarter to make it close at the end. Garland with a franchise record 27 points in the 4th. When the first quarter ended at 40-20 I thought the rest of the game would be garbage time.
So frustrating to lose this game on 12 missed free throws. Also, D'Angelo Russell, who was shooting 38% overall and 30% on 3's, went 11-for-13 and 4-for-5 from deep. Why did he finally find his stroke against us?
However, part of it was shooting over Garland with a big height advantage which made it easier.
What turned out to be huge was an innocuous play at the end of the first half. Garland launched a 3-point running buzzer beater that went in. His momentum carried him right to the rim and the ball came right to him as it went through the hoop. With time expired he grabbed the ball and for some reason tossed it into Gobert's chest, who was standing right there. He might have not even seen Rudy and was just tossing it off the court but it hit Gobert.
Garland got a technical. Bickerstaff was incensed because it seemed obvious Garland didn't mean to do it. So JBB got a technical as well. The second half started with Prince hitting two free throws. Those two points turned out to be huge in the final minute with the Cavs down by two and forced to foul.
Also contributing to the loss was Love missing four wide open 3's in the first quarter and Cedi throwing a pass behind LeVert on a breakaway that would have been an easy layup but was fumbled away.
So many chances to win.
But the biggest positive, which overshadows the loss, is Garland returning to form after going 6-for-28 in his last two games. The real Darius Garland is back and better than ever. 51 points and 6 assists, so he was involved in 63 points. Once we get Mitchell, Allen, and Wade back this team will be very, very hard to beat.
The other positive is Lamar Stevens with 15 points and 6 rebounds in 30 minutes. He made a case for more playing time, IMO.
In crunch time JBB went with the guys who were playing well. LeVert, Love, and Mobley were not having very good games, particularly Mobley who had 4 points (and 4 missed free throws) in 32 minutes, although he chipped in 13 rebounds.
JBB went with a wierd lineup of Garland, Cedi, Okoro, Stevens, and Lopez down the stretch (only one starter!), and they responded and almost pulled it out. Anthony Edwards buried a pull-up 15-foot jumper and then the Wolves got lucky and grabbed a long rebound off a missed 3.
In the end getting the real Darius Garland back and Lamar Stevens having a good 30 minutes will mean more in the long run than a win tonight. But I'm still pissed about the double technical when it seemed clear that Garland was not taunting. But the refs can't read minds, they have to call what they see.