Darius Garland Passes Kyrie Irving in Meaningful Stat for Cavs Rookie

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Monday night featured a brutal game for the Cleveland Cavaliers, as they got destroyed by the Los Angeles Lakers, 128-99.

But the blowout loss didn’t prevent one of the Cavs’ talented youngsters from reaching an important milestone.

For the game, Darius Garland put up a solid 16 points and four assists on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 2-of-6 shooting from downtown.

Cleveland got off to a very good start, leading 27-21 at the end of the first quarter as its defense held LeBron James and company in check. It led by as many as 14 points early in the second quarter.

However, the Lakers cut the Cavs’ lead to 48-47 at halftime. After that, they went on a tear and outscored Cleveland 81-51 in the second half.

Garland struggled early this season, but has picked it up as of late.

Coming into Monday’s contest, he averaged 14.9 points and 4.3 assists on 46.2 percent field-goal shooting and 36.4 percent 3-point shooting in his previous 13 games.

He recently commented that his confidence is at an “all-time high,” and Cavs head coach John Beilein has also praised the rookie’s improvement as a floor general.

In particular, Beilein seems pleased that Garland is doing a better job of limiting his turnovers.

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Robert is a native of Santa Monica, Calif. and a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has been an avid NBA fan since he was a little kid in the mid '90s and has seen the Cavs go from NBA laughingstocks, to contenders, back to laughingstocks and finally world champions. He feels strongly that the NBA and sports aren't just entertainment, but also a means for learning life lessons.