CLEVELAND, Ohio -- When Darius Garland isn’t turning the ball over, the Cavs have another All-Star candidate.
Cleveland’s point guard entered Wednesday’s game ranking second in the NBA in turnover percentage and third in turnovers per game. But in the Cavs’ 121-111 win over the Magic, who are third in the Eastern Conference, Garland was masterful with the ball in his hands.
“I give Darius a little bit of leeway because I know who he is,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He’s an extremely efficient basketball player. So we know those turnovers weren’t gonna last. We know the impact that he can have on a game and how he can orchestrate a game [and] make his teammates better.
“And that’s what this is about. His job is to not only take care of himself, but his job is to make this team go, and he did a great job of that tonight.”
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Garland had nine assists with zero turnovers, his third-highest assist total without giving the ball up, to go along with 26 points and three rebounds while shooting 5 of 5 on free throws. It’s the first game this season that Garland has left the turnover column blank.
“That’s the DG we need,” Cavs forward Max Strus said. “Play with pace, get everybody else going, and then he gets going himself. So that’s the point guard we need out of him. And he was phenomenal.”
His lone 3-pointer on the night tied Garland with Daniel Gibson (578) for the seventh-most triples made in Cavs history.
“Boobie’s my guy, so I’m definitely gonna tell him about that,” Garland said of Gibson. “But yeah, it’s cool. It’s a really big and great organization, so anytime you can move up in the organization ranks, it’s an honor.”
Orlando guard Cole Anthony was tasked with guarding Garland for a majority of the night, and there were multiple times when the Cavs guard took advantage of Anthony guarding him the length of the floor, being able to switch speeds while getting up the court.
“A couple of times, I was playing with the ball a little bit, but yeah, if I beat my man, I’m gonna try to just go score it or look for my teammates to try and make the right play from there,” Garland said. “But I usually don’t get [pressed full court] as much, so sometimes I just slow it down and try to just get a good shot and not turn the ball over.”
The ball was seemingly on a string as Garland would toy with his defender to penetrate the lane before dishing it to an open teammate. A highlight was in the fourth quarter when he wrapped around Goga Bitazde’s body after speeding past Paolo Banchero to dump off a pass to Evan Mobley, who scored an easy layup when the Cavs were trying to maintain a lead.
“When he’s not out there second-guessing, kind of getting down and being him, that’s when we’re at our best,” guard Donovan Mitchell said of Garland.
“There’s an expectation put on him because he’s as good as he is, and, obviously, we all know that he’s struggled in the turnover area. But he works his butt off, and it’s going to continue to trend upward more nights than it won’t.”
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