Darius Garland’s 21 points across the first three quarters helped the Cavaliers build a nine-point lead in Game 6, but the point guard made one critical mistake in the final minutes that hurt Cleveland’s chances of clinching their first-round series Friday.
With just over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Garland dribbled toward the back corner near his bench after the Cavaliers collected a rebound, beginning to slowly advance the ball.
Garland then started toward the left side of the court.
Then, his path shifted — horizontally — toward the center.
And by the time he was one step away from crossing over the mid-court line, a referee blew the whistle and signaled for an eight-second violation.
The Magic didn’t end up scoring on their next sequence after getting the ball back, but the Cavaliers trailed by five points at the time and lost a possession to cut into Orlando’s lead — eventually resulting in a 103-96 loss that sent the series back to Cleveland for a Game 7 and wasted Donovan Mitchell’s 50-point masterpiece.
“… Our seven turnovers are opportunities that we don’t get a look at,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters about the Cavaliers’ turnovers in the final frame. “So we take care of the basketball, we rebound the basketball, we’ll give ourselves a good chance.”
Garland, who also finished with six rebounds, five assists and two steals, appeared surprised after the eight-second violation was called, stretching both of his hands out while Franz Wagner pumped his fist.
Max Strus had initially grabbed the rebound following a missed Magic free throw.
That appeared to have reset the shot clock, even though Garland didn’t pick up the loose ball until a second or two later — once Orlando star Paolo Banchero had poked possession away from Strus.
“So Garland’s like, ‘OK, I just got the ball,’ but that clock is already three deep,” ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson said on the broadcast. “That clock is already three seconds deep. So there, he’s not aware of it.”
The Cavaliers cut their deficit to three points when Mitchell — who attempted 36 shots, made 22 of them and accounted for every Cleveland point in the fourth — hit a shot on their next offensive possession, but they were never able to inch closer than that across the final three minutes.
So after a narrow one-point win gave Cleveland — crushed twice by the Magic in Games 3 and 4 and needing a last-second Evan Mobley block to survive in Game 5 — the chance to close out its first playoff series win since the run to the 2018 Finals, the Cavaliers will need to win Game 7 on Sunday to set up a second-round matchup with the Celtics.
