The Cleveland Cavaliers went down to the wire with the Houston Rockets, but they weren’t able to escape with the win, losing 109-108. The Cavs had a chance to win at the end with Darius Garland at the free-throw line, but he only made one out of three he was given.
Donovan Mitchell, the leader of the team, spoke to the media after the game and downplayed Garland missing the free throws at the end.
“This was just one of those things where the ball didn’t go in,” Mitchell said via the team’s website. “It happens.”
Mitchell then shared what he said to Garland after he missed the free throws.
“I’d rather it now than in June,” Mitchell said. “At the end of the day, we wouldn’t have gotten those free throws if you didn’t do what you do. He’s been great all year, great in the fourth all year. It happens. It happens to everybody, we all miss shots. You know, I could have been better for him. There’s so many things you could point to outside of free throws.”
The one thing that has been big for the Cavs is the way they’ve been able to bounce back after a loss, and this shouldn’t be any different.
Cavs lose in closing seconds to Rockets
Erik Williams-Imagn Images
It was a game between two of the best teams in their conferences, and the Cavs didn’t have enough to get the win in the end. In the past few weeks, the Cavs have lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Rockets, the top two teams in the Western Conference, but they have still shown that they’re a team that needs to be taken seriously.
Though he missed the free throws to seal the game, Darius Garland has helped the Cavs get to where they are so far in the season, and he should be considered an All-Star. He still finished the game with 26 points and that was a major reason they were so close.
The Cavs will most likely bounce back from this kind of loss and come back with more focus and intensity, something they’ve done all season. There’s a good chance that they’ll stay in the top spot of the Eastern Conference if the Boston Celtics don’t catch up, and that’ll be huge for them going into the playoffs with home-court advantage. People are starting to realize that the Cavs can’t be taken lightly, and they can make a deep run in the playoffs.
