NBA Scores: Darius Garland’s return powers the Cavaliers over the Celtics in OT

There were literally 64 games going on in the NBA on Wednesday night, so let’s not waste any time and get right into all the action, because there was A LOT of it.

Sixers drop back below .500 after Embiid missed the two games in a row vs Wizards, Philly having won the first. Washington (4-4) got 59 combined from Beal and Porzingis with double-digit efforts from four others. Sixers (4-5) were led by Maxey (32 points) and Harden (24 points and 10 assists).

Darius Garland made his return to the Cavs’ lineup for the first time since opening night, and it didn’t take him long to make a great team look even better. He accounted for 14 of Cleveland’s first 16 points, and finished the first quarter with 14 points (3-3 from 3), 3 assists, and 2 steals.

Cleveland led by as much as 11 in the first half, but went into the break down 50-56. Boston won the rebounding battle in the first half by 11; most of the gap was made on the defensive glass. Celtics won the free throw battle 14-15 to 7-7.

Cleveland used a third quarter stretch where Boston turned the ball over four times in five possessions to take their first lead of the second half. Mobley’s presence in that particular frame was crucial.

The squads went back and forth over the fourth quarter with the stars showing out. Down the stretch, Garland missed one of two free throws while Cleveland was up 1 with 10 seconds left, opening an opportunity for Jayson Tatum’s blow-by dunk and ensuing block to set up overtime.

Cleveland (6-1) got the best of the Celtics (4-3) in a 7-6 overtime, started off by a three from Garland. Just last Friday, the Cavs beat the Celtics 132-123 in overtime, and they pull off the long win again on Wednesday.

Herro earns his 12th career double-double (26 points and 12 rebounds) of his career including the game-winner to push Miami (4-5) ahead of Sacramento (2-5). Lowry (22) and Adebayo (20) each added in more support without Jimmy Butler playing. Sabonis and Huerter each scored 22 in the loss.

Hawks were down by as much as 23 points in the first half. From that point (2nd quarter, 6:59) until when Atlanta took the lead (3rd, 8:54), Murray poured in 15 points to help close the gap. His performance was key for Atlanta as Trae Young struggled from the floor (17 points on 7-22 FG and 2-7 3P).

Atlanta (5-3) beating the Knicks (3-4) at MSG still gives me flashbacks to the “Take a bow” series that Trae had in the playoffs in 2021.

Sometimes, a superstar will just put a bad team to bed, and that’s exactly what Giannis did for the Bucks (7-0) with 32 points (11-24 FG) and 12 rebounds in just 30 minutes, beating the Pistons (2-7) much more easily than they did on Monday (110-108).

The top 3 bench scorers for the Raptors — Boucher (17), Banton (13), and Achiuwa (12) — combined for more than the top 3 scorers overall for the Spurs — Bates-Diop (17), Branham (13), and Richardson (10).

Siakam finished with his second triple-double of the season (22, 10, and 11) as the Raptors improve to 5-3 while the Spurs, one of a few aren’t-they-supposed-to-be-tanking squads, also move to 5-3.

Luka was doing it all for Dallas in the first half — 18 points and 7 assists in 17:24 — but it wasn’t really enough to keep pace with Utah, who was just ahead at the break 50-47. To make matters even worse, the Jazz (another one of the aren’t-they-supposed-to-be-tanking teams) opened the second half on a 14-2 run.

Luka kept up his brilliance — 15 points in the second half — while Christian Wood added 17. Jazz (6-3) couldn’t hold it together down the stretch; Dallas (4-3) was +7 over the last 9:21 to win by 3.

Memphis (5-3) opened on a 12-2 run and never once trailed, though Portland (5-2) did tie it a couple times. Grizzlies got Bane (29 points on 7-16 shooting) back in this one after he missed the 16-point loss to Utah. Blazers still miss Dame; Anfernee Simons (31 on 10-21) led all scorers without him.

Kind of a silly game to reflect on! LeBron and AD each scored 20 while Russ had a pretty respectable showing off the bench (13, 7, and 9 albeit with 6 turnovers). But then you go searching for the game’s scoring leader and it’s Lonnie Walker IV (!!!!) with 28 including 5-9 from three.

With less than 2 seconds remaining in regulation, New Orleans led by 3 and had lottery rookie Dyson Daniels going to the line for two free throws to put the game on ice. He missed both, giving Matt Ryan (not the Colts quarterback) a chance to send it to OT:

With nearly two minutes left in overtime, LeBron cashed in a layup that would end up being their final points of the game, and the defense tightened up enough to hold NOLA to just two points over those final seconds.

In his second game back from injury, Zion looked like Zion — 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists — and took it right to LeBron on multiple occasions.

However, it wasn’t enough for the Pels, who are still missing Brandon Ingram and Herb Jones, though head coach Willie Green reported that both are progressing well.

It’s funny to watch this matchup with the knowledge in the back of my head that NOLA (4-3) gets LA’s (2-5) pick, which could maybe be Wemby? But tonight’s Pels loss hurts their chances at Wemby, so it’s all kinda funny.