Darius Garland, Cavaliers snap back late to snare Pelicans

Darius Garland helps Cavs avoid another late loss

The Cleveland Cavaliers buckled down late to secure a 113-103 victory at home against an undermanned New Orleans Pelicans team. After suffering a fourth-quarter collapse in Minnesota in their previous outing, the Cavs came out determined to maintain their nearly pristine home record.

After starting on the back foot and trailing for nearly the entire length of three periods, Cleveland completely reversed the narrative from the painful loss just two nights ago, turning a three-point deficit to open the final quarter into another spirited double-digit win at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

Darius Garland starred for the Cavs on MLK day as he led all scorers in the game with 30 points to go with 11 assists, six rebounds, and one steal, while big man Jarrett Allen finished with a double-double of his own with 24 markers and 11 boards–plus two steals and a blocked shot.

On the other hand, Canton-native C.J. McCollum tallied 25 points despite a slow start offensively for New Orleans, while Jonas Valanciunas added 22 in the loss.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to spark another win-streak

A pretty balanced offensive outing saw all five starters finish with double-digits in scoring, though not a single backup joined the party against the Pelicans. The victory was also quite bittersweet as it saw one of Cleveland’s most important pieces exit the game with an injury.

Donovan Mitchell, who had been struggling offensively in the past few games after falling ill, left the game prior to the fourth quarter with what the team reported as a groin strain. He remained on the bench on the bench, giving some hope that the injury might not be as serious as initially feared.

Behind Darius Garland, the frontcourt duo Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley (19 points), and even Isaac Okoro (11 points), Cleveland was able to pull through late and complete the comeback against the hobbled Pelicans who played without stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.

Despite moving up to 28-17, the Cleveland Cavaliers remain in fifth place but are still only half a game behind the second-placed tied Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks in the razor-thin Eastern Conference postseason race. They will go back on the road as they visit the Memphis Grizzlies on January 18.