Cleveland Cavaliers star Darius Garland led a valiant comeback attempt against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night, but the team still fell short 129-124.
Garland scored a career-high 51 points in the loss, with 27 of them coming in the fourth quarter alone. He also nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the first half. He helped bring the team back from a 99-75 deficit in the third quarter.
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“I didn’t even know I had 50 until I went to the bench,” Garland said after the game. “No one told me and I wasn’t paying attention to anything, except trying to win the game.
“That’s the great thing about this group of guys. No one cares about individual numbers. It’s all about the team.”
Garland entered Cavaliers history with his performance. He became the fourth player in the franchise to hit the mark, joining LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Walt Wesley. James hit 50-plus points nine times in his career with the Cavaliers while Irving did it twice.
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James and Irving each had 57 points in a single game – the franchise record – on the road. Garland fell four points shy of trying the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse mark.
Cleveland started off the season winning eight of their first nine games. Since then, the team has dropped four in a row, including three on the road.
“Garland is a phenomenal young player and he got super hot,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “When guys like him get hot, there is no shutting them down, so you’ve got to really, really work. But I’m not here to be super picky with our guys after a win.”
Cleveland was without Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen. Mitchell is dealing with a sprained right ankle and Allen with a sore left ankle.
The team hits the road once again on Wednesday with a matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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