LOS ANGELES: Darius Garland scored 30 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers staged a double-digit comeback to bag their 15th straight victory with a 109-104 defeat of the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday.
Cleveland looked to be heading for a shock loss after lowly Brooklyn raced into an 18-point lead in the third quarter against a Cavs line-up missing the rested Donovan Mitchell.
But Garland produced an explosive late burst of scoring to haul Cleveland back into the contest and extend the Cavaliers’ lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 55-10.
Eighteen of Garland’s points came in the fourth quarter after the Cavs had cut the Nets lead to eight points at the end of the third thanks to a remarkable 49-foot three-pointer from Craig Porter Jr.
Porter’s buzzer-beating heave from half-court left Cleveland trailing 86-78, and Garland then took over with a dazzling fourth-quarter display to see the Cavs home to the delight of the Rocket Arena crowd.
The victory was the fifth time this season Cleveland have overturned a deficit of 15 points or more to win.
A weary Garland admitted though he would have preferred an easier path to victory.
“I’m sick and tired of comebacks,” Garland joked after the win. “But we play hard for 48 minutes. We weren’t shooting the ball the best so our defense took a stand.
“This team is a really good unit — we stick together through the good times and the bad times. We were all locked in through the fourth quarter. That’s when we put our hard hats on and go to work.”
Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson saluted Garland’s game-winning late charge.
“He’s the clutch player of the year,” Atkinson said. “He just does it for us in the fourth quarter. He’s done it for us all year.”
Garland received scoring support from Jarrett Allen, who had 13 rebounds and three blocks as well as scoring 23 points, and Evan Mobley who added 21 points.
The loss was hard on Brooklyn, who went into the game fresh from Monday’s upset win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Cam Thomas led Brooklyn’s scoring with 27 points while Cameron Johnson added 17 as the Nets fell to 22-43 for the season.
“I’m proud of the guys because the first half was impressive,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said.
“I just wish we would have been rewarded with a win.”
Elsewhere, Cade Cunningham’s 27-point performance helped the Detroit Pistons stay firmly in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt with a 123-103 victory over the Washington Wizards.
The Pistons improved to 37-29 and are in sixth place in the East, just behind Indiana, who snatched a sensational last-gasp 115-114 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
In a pulsating game that saw the lead change hands 21 times, the Bucks looked to have done enough to secure the win after two free throws from Damian Lillard put Milwaukee 114-111 ahead with four seconds remaining.
But Tyrese Haliburton conjured a jaw-dropping three-pointer on the run and drew a foul from Giannis Antetokounmpo in the process to earn a free throw which he duly drained to win the game.
The Pacers improved to 36-28 with the win and have an identical record to the fourth-placed Bucks.
The New Orleans Pelicans snapped the Los Angeles Clippers’ three-game winning streak with a 127-120 victory.
