CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Darius Garland has talked all season about competing against players in the NBA, whom he considers brothers. But since Donovan M൲itchell arrived in Cleveland, he’s been the big brother thatꦫ Garland has needed to take the next steps in his career.
Mitchell’s mentorship and love for Garland showed itself in the Cavs’ Game 7 106-94 victory over the Orlando Magic to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals for🌱 the first time s💯ince 2018.
More Cavs coverage
The Cavs trailed by 18 points with 4:17 remaining in the first half, and Garland was struggling. He was taken out twice in the second quarter before ๊the Cavs made a run to cut the Magic lead to 10 points at 🔴the half behind a couple of triples from Sam Merrill and crafty offensive play by Caris LeVert.
Garland started the third quarter, but after missing a layup, he was subbed out. The point guard was infuriated with himself, screaming into the void, and smacking his chair upon returning to the benc🌌h during a timeout. But Mitchell -- who combined for 89 points over the last two games against the Magic -- was there to console Garland, putting his arm around him and giving him advice.
“I told him, I don’t give a damn what happened the past quarter and a half, the missed layup, whatever, I don’t care,” Mitchell said of the interaction with Garland on the bench in 🐎the third period. “You trust your work. Trust what you’ve done, trust who you are. ... We trust you. Believe in yourself. And there’s been moments where he’s done the same to me. We have that relationship.
“And I always tell him, he was in foul trouble and things like that, but keep shooting the ball, keep being aggressive. I don’t care if you turn the ball ove🔯r, I don’t care if the crowd boos, I don’t care. We don’t care. Just continue to be you.”
Garland has been criticized for his performances in the fourth quarter throughout the entire season. But Mitchell and Garland have reiterated the importance of consistent opportunities for him to be prepared when the moment calls for it the most — an example is when he hit the dagger in the playoff clinching win𒉰 over the Indiana Pac𒅌ers. In Game 7,ꦦ with the Cavs’ season on the line, Garland picked his play up, once again, when he needed🔯 to most.
The point guard had four assists, a steal, and 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer after a missed attempt during the ♉same possession, and Garland wasn’t afraid to put it back up. Mitchell not only assisted on the play, giving Garland another shot at the basket, but he was the first person to embrace Garland when the Magic called a timeout. Garland was 1 oꦓf 10 from the field and 0 of 3 before hitting that 3-pointer to get his scoring going.
“It means a lot, just having a guy like that on my side,” Garland said𒅌 of Mitchell. “He knew that I was a little bit down in the first half, especially with the foul trouble, but he kept trusting me, 𓆉especially that corner trey ball. He trusts me on that one.
“It’s cool just having him in my ear a little bit, just telling me to keep going, stay confident in myself, and that the entire team and the entire organization b🍌elieves 𝔉in me. I really needed it.”
Mitchell finished with 39 points, nine rebounds, five assists, a block, and a steal. Garland finished with 12 points, four assists, three steals, and three rebounds. The Cavs completed an 18-point comeback, which is the largest in NBA history in a Game 7 since the league started ꦕtracking play-by-play. The previ༺ous biggest comeback in a Game 7 since 1997-98 was 17 PTS by Portland (5/12/19 at Denver).
There has been speculation all season about whether Garland and Mitchell got along or if they would work together as a small backcourt in today’s era of the NBA. In the biggest game of the season thus far, they showed that together theꦍy can picಌk each other up and achieve a common goal -- winning.
“We’ve been at it for two years, and we’ve been trying to get past this first round, so he knew that we all wante🌳d it at the same time and together,” Garland said of the pairing of him and Mitchell and the moment of Game 7.
“We love each other. We donဣ’t want to let each other dow▨n.”
If you or a loved one has questions and needs to talk to a professional about gambling, call the Ohio Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-589-9966 or the National Council on Program Gambling Helpline (NCPG) at 1-800-522-4700 or visit for more information. 21+ and present in Ohio. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.