<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/news/cavs-news-cleveland-breathe-easy-donovan-mitchell-darius-garland-injury-scares');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs can breathe easy after Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland injury scares');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cleveland-can-breathe-easy-after-Donovan-Mitchell-Darius-Garland-injury-scares.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs can breathe easy after Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland injury scares</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-04T14:31:55-08:00">December 4th, 2:31pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-04T14:31:55-08:00">December 4th, 2:31pm</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik is also an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints and Cavs Nation.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-cleveland-important-caris-levert-injury-update-hawks-game">Cleveland Cavaliers</a> fans held their breath for a moment during their latest matchup against the Washington Wizards as Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell suffered injuries. At the beginning of the third quarter, Mitchell injured his right shoulder and left the game for a minute, but came into the game. Afterward, Mitchell <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2024/12/are-cavs-donovan-mitchell-and-darius-garland-ok-after-scary-injuries-suffered-in-win-over-wizards.html" rel="noopener">shared an update</a> on the injury.</p><p>“There’s a reason why I don’t play football,” Mitchell said via Cavs reporter Chris Fedor. “At the end of the day, it was one of those moments where in the moment it’s scary. But we’re all good.”</p><p>Later in that third quarter, Garland got hit in the back of the head and laid on the floor for two possessions. Garland ended up walking to the locker room and didn’t return to the game. Head coach Kenny Atkinson provided an update on Garland after the game.</p><p>“He looked fine in the locker room,” Atkinson said. “Doesn’t look like anything that’ll hold him out. He gave me the thumbs up, and I don’t think he’ll miss any time at all. I think he’s fine.”</p><p>Both updates seem to be positive, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Mitchell and Garland were available in the Cavs’ next game against the Denver Nuggets.</p><h2>Cavs continue to stay atop Eastern Conference</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Donovan-Mitchell.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-gets-brutally-honest-about-clevelands-performance-vs-hawks">back-to-back losses to the Atlanta Hawks</a>, the Cavs were looking to get back on track, and that’s what they did. They handled business against the Boston Celtics at home, as they’ve been slowly creeping up on them in the standings.</p><p>The Celtics tried to do their best to get Darius Garland switched on them so they could take advantage of him since he’s smaller in size, but the Cavs guard wasn’t bothered and held his own. Kenny Atkinson also let it be known that <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-darius-garland-sends-aint-no-punk-message-celtics">Garland had to take the challenge</a>.</p><p>“I’m going to take that challenge whenever it is,” Garland said after the game. “I’m no punk. So if y’all want to switch and to x me out and try to just hunt me out, that’s cool. I ain’t no punk, though. I’m gonna take a challenge.”</p><p>“This goes back to me watching the playoffs last year, and, you know, I think they did different things to hide him,” Atkinson said. “My point to Darius [was], ‘We’re not hiding you. You’re good enough. Accept the challenge. You’re smart enough.’ Because I think when you start doing the tricky stuff, these teams are too good. You gotta be able to switch. And if he’s gonna play at the end of games, he’s gotta be able to switch.”</p><p>The Cavs then handled business against the Wizards despite the injuries they had throughout the game. With them being at the top of the conference, teams will be looking to give them their best shot every night, but they look to be prepared for whatever comes their way.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs can breathe easy after Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland injury scares

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-darius-garland-donovan-mitchell-injury-scares');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell give udpates after injury scares');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Darius-Garland-Donovan-Mitchell-give-updates-after-injury-scares.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs’ Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell give udpates after injury scares</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-04T10:10:11-08:00">December 4th, 10:10am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-04T10:10:11-08:00">December 4th, 10:10am</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In their 118-87 victory over the Washington Wizards, the Cleveland Cavaliers faced two scares in the third quarter. Superstar Donovan Mitchell nearly injured his shoulder while trying to navigate a screen by Jonas Valanciunas, but he returned <a href="https://x.com/AmNotEvan/status/1864118957306720430" rel="noopener">despite his limp right arm</a>. However, after Mitchell went to the locker room, Cavs guard Darius Garland was hit in the back of the head by Valanciunas and was ruled out for the rest of the game.</p><p>Before blaming Valanciunas, it’s important to note that he set a solid screen when Mitchell got hurt. Mitchell’s injury occurred as he tried to run through it. Meanwhile, Garland’s injury was a freak accident; he collided with Valanciunas’s left arm while pursuing a lob pass from Evan Mobley under the basket.</p><p>At first, it was unclear what the situation was with either player. Mitchell’s return to the floor was reassuring. However, Garland’s remaining in the locker room raised alarms, especially given how essential Garland has been for Cleveland’s red-hot start to the season. Thankfully, head coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t seem concerned after the game.</p><p>“I think he’s fine,” Atkinson said of Garland. “I just looked at him. He gave me the thumbs up, and I don’t think he’ll miss any time at all. I think he’s fine.”</p><p>When the media entered the locker room, both players were okay. Garland and Mitchell joked about Mitchell’s laundry routine and interrupted each other’s post-game interviews. Their light-hearted interactions alleviated concerns about their injuries, suggesting they should be fine moving forward.</p><p>“I’m good. I’m alive,” Garland joked about his head injury.</p><p>“In the moment, it’s scary, but we’re all good,” Mitchell said, who tried to relate to Garland since he wasn’t wearing the correct prescription glasses, giving him headaches.</p><h2><b>Cavs’ Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell give personal injury updates</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Darius-Garland-celebrates-Cavs-Wizards.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>When discussing his injury scare, Mitchell said he suffered “a little stinger in the shoulder.” He also added there’s a reason he doesn’t play football.</p><p>“I should have known not to run into [Valanciunas’] screen, but sometimes I take the challenge to try to run through a guy’s chest,” Mitchell said. “But some people, you just don’t, and he’s one of them.”</p><p>Garland, meanwhile, jokingly compared taking Valanciunas’s arm to the back of the head to surviving a car crash. Understandably, Garland might feel that way. Valanciunas is listed as 7 feet and 270 pounds. Garland is only 6-1 and 192 pounds.</p><p>“Valanciunas, he sets great screens. They’re just punishing,” Atkinson said. “We don’t realize this game, especially for guards, with all the pick-and-rolls in the game, the force of the screens, it’s tough. But that’s the nature of the game.</p><p>“It’s part of what you have to do as a perimeter player is take those hits and try to avoid them the best you can. But Valanciunas is one of the best screeners in the league. He got us a couple of times.”</p><p>Although they’re probably both a little sore, thankfully, Garland and Mitchell don’t seem like they’ll miss time for the Cavs. Both guards have been vital in Cleveland’s NBA-best start to the season, so possibly losing both of them would be devastating. Thankfully, that doesn’t have to be a thought, as both are in good health and good spirits after a rousing Cavs win over the Wizards at home.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell give udpates after injury scares

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavaliers-news-darius-garland-out-wizards-head-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavaliers’ Darius Garland ruled out of Wizards game with apparent head injury');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cavaliers-news-Darius-Garland-ruled-out-of-Wizards-game-with-apparent-head-injury.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavaliers’ Darius Garland ruled out of Wizards game with apparent head injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-03T18:09:30-08:00">December 3rd, 6:09pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-03T18:37:40-08:00">December 3rd, 6:37pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavaliers-news-kenny-atkinson-identifies-factor-al-horford-longevity">Cleveland Cavaliers are still rolling</a> at the start of the 2024-25 season as they knocked off the Washington Wizards 118-87 on Tuesday night. While the Cavaliers won’t make it out of their NBA Cup group after suffering a pair of losses in tournament play, they are still locked into the top spot in the Eastern Conference.</p><p>During Tuesday’s Group C finale against the Wizards, point guard Darius Garland went down with a head injury. Garland is currently being evaluated and <a href="https://x.com/CavsNotes/status/1864126402900939003" rel="noopener">did not return</a> to the game, according to the team in a social media post. He suffered the injury when going up for a shot and catching an elbow from Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas.</p><p>Garland played just 17 minutes on Tuesday night and was off to a good start, scoring 12 points and notching three assists. He also knocked down a pair of 3-pointers.</p><p>Garland’s injury came shortly after an injury scare to star guard Donovan Mitchell, who is an early MVP candidate after leading the Cavaliers on this red-hot start. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavaliers-news-donovan-mitchell-nsfw-message-undefeated-start">Mitchell has been crucial</a> in closing out a number of fourth quarters for the Cavaliers this season. Mitchell later returned to the game, but this has been a stressful night for Cleveland dans despite a fairly routine win over one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference.</p><p>A head injury isn’t ideal for the star point guard, who missed significant time last season after fracturing his jaw, an injury that required surgery and kept him out for an extended period. Even after Garland returned, he was understandably a bit hesitant and the effects from the injury lingered while he was on the court.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-darius-garland-aint-no-punk">Garland has been a massive part of the Cavaliers’ league-best 19-3 start</a> this season. Entering Tuesday night, Garland was averaging 20.8 points per game and 6.9 assists per night while shooting an astounding 45.2% from 3-point range on high volume. His scoring has been a major boost for the Cavaliers, especially on nights where Mitchell isn’t shooting it well. If he is forced to miss significant time, it will be a big blow for one of the best teams in the NBA.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavaliers’ Darius Garland ruled out of Wizards game with apparent head injury

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/news/cavs-news-darius-garland-sends-aint-no-punk-message-celtics');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Darius Garland sends ‘ain’t no punk’ message to Celtics');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cavs-Darius-Garland-sends-aint-no-punk-message-to-Celtics.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs’ Darius Garland sends ‘ain’t no punk’ message to Celtics</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-02T10:45:07-08:00">December 2nd, 10:45am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-02T10:45:26-08:00">December 2nd, 10:45am</time><address><a>Quinn Allen</a>Quinn Allen is a Senior Associate Editor for ClutchPoints and Cavs Nation.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers flexed their muscle on Sunday, taking down the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics by a score of 115-111. This was the definition of a statement win for the Cavs, <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-darius-garland-join-make-nba-history-15-0-start" rel="noopener">who sit at the top of the Eastern Conference with an 18-3 record.</a></p><p>In the past, the C’s have tried to switch on Darius Garland and contain his production. While that was the case on Sunday, it didn’t work. The guard had a solid game, registering 22 points in 32 minutes of action while dishing out eight assists as well.</p><p>After the victory, Garland <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-darius-garland-aint-no-punk" rel="noopener">welcomed the challenge</a>. Via Evan Dammarell:</p><p>“I’m going to take that challenge whenever it is,” Garland said. “I’m no punk. So if y’all want to switch and to x me out and try to just hunt me out, that’s cool. I ain’t no punk, though. I’m gonna take a challenge.”</p><p>Even Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson believed the team “hid” Garland in the playoffs last season instead of letting him do this thing and adjust to the switches:</p><p>“This goes back to me watching the playoffs last year, and, you know, I think they did different things to hide him,” Atkinson said. “My point to Darius [was], ‘We’re not hiding you. You’re good enough. Accept the challenge. You’re smart enough.’ Because I think when you start doing the tricky stuff, these teams are too good. You gotta be able to switch. And if he’s gonna play at the end of games, he’s gotta be able to switch.”</p><p>“I just told him in the locker room, ‘You know, I don’t want to hide him anymore,’” the Cavs coach said. “It’s playoff basketball. He’s got to accept a challenge. We did do some different things, you know, tactically to help him out a little bit, but we went back to our regular coverage, and he got two big stops at the end. Didn’t foul. He’s smart, he’s fast, he’s strong. I don’t see why he can’t be a really good defender, and he’s showing he can.”</p><p><a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-darius-garland-hot-start-nba-wide-recognition" rel="noopener">Garland is certainly proving his worth to the Cavs</a>, averaging 20.8 points, 6.9 assists, and 2.6 boards on 45% shooting from three-point land.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Darius Garland sends ‘ain’t no punk’ message to Celtics

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-darius-garland-aint-no-punk');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Darius Garland shows he ‘ain’t no punk’ in win over Celtics');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cavs-news-Darius-Garland-shows-he-aint-no-punk-in-win-over-Celtics.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs’ Darius Garland shows he ‘ain’t no punk’ in win over Celtics</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-02T08:58:53-08:00">December 2nd, 8:58am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-02T09:13:22-08:00">December 2nd, 9:13am</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In their quest to repeat as NBA Champions, the Boston Celtics have been clinical in their offensive approach. Boston creates and exploits mismatches, often leading to a high volume of three-pointers. In <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-vs-cavaliers-prediction-odds-pick-12-1-2024">Boston’s matchup with</a> the Cleveland Cavaliers, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-payton-pritchard-reason-cavs-kenny-atkinson-strayed-philosophy">the Celtics continually targeted</a> Cavs guard Darius Garland on defense as a mismatch. However, instead of shielding Garland from these situations, Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson <a href="https://x.com/AmNotEvan/status/1863401192451141669" rel="noopener">encourages him to embrace them</a>.</p><p>“I just told him in the locker room, ‘You know, I don’t want to hide him anymore,’” Atkinson said. “It’s playoff basketball. He’s got to accept a challenge. We did do some different things, you know, tactically to help him out a little bit, but we went back to our regular coverage, and he got two big stops at the end. Didn’t foul. He’s smart, he’s fast, he’s strong. I don’t see why he can’t be a really good defender, and he’s showing he can.”</p><p>The Cavs isolated Garland, allowing Tatum and the Celtics to target him. This strategy paid off, as Tatum led the team with 33 points, eight rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block in 38 minutes. However, he required 27 shots to reach that total, disrupting Boston’s usual offensive flow.</p><p>“I think when you watch the game as a fan, you kind of see the guy maybe scoring in the 2-point range. But at the end of the day, they’re a 3-point shooting team,” Donovan Mitchell explained postgame. “If they’re taking tough contested 2s and (Darius) is continuing to body him and make it tough, we live with it. It’s the NBA. Guys are going to hit shots.”</p><h2><b>Darius Garland wouldn’t let the Celtics punk him in the Cavs’ latest win</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Darius-Garland-Cavs-Celtics.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Though it may seem minor in an 82-game season, Garland facing challenges from Tatum and the Celtics is crucial. The Cavs are now focused on preparing for the playoffs, and having Garland confront these situations in the regular season is vital for their success in high-stakes postseason matchups.</p><p>“This goes back to me watching the playoffs last year, and, you know, I think they did different things to hide him,” Atkinson said. “My point to Darius [was], ‘We’re not hiding you. You’re good enough. Accept the challenge. You’re smart enough.’ Because I think when you start doing the tricky stuff, these teams are too good. You gotta be able to switch. And if he’s gonna play at the end of games, he’s gotta be able to switch.”</p><p>Garland’s strong performance against the Celtics showcased his abilities and affirmed Atkinson’s faith in his defensive skills since training camp. Although it’s just one game, seeing what he can achieve in crucial moments is encouraging.</p><p>“I’m going to take that challenge whenever it is,” Garland said. “I’m no punk. So if y’all want to switch and to x me out and try to just hunt me out, that’s cool. I ain’t no punk, though. I’m gonna take a challenge.”</p><p>Performances like this boost confidence and demonstrate Garland’s strength and toughness to coaches, teammates, and opponents. He acknowledged that being targeted repeatedly is a sign of disrespect and stated that last season’s treatment isn’t the new norm from now on.</p><p>“They literally picked on him every single play,” Atkinson said of Garland’s defense. “That’s their style. And this goes back to me watching the playoffs last year. I think they did different things to hide him. I think when you start doing the tricky stuff, these teams are too good. You’ve got to be able to switch. If he’s going to play at the end of games, he’s got to be able to switch.</p><p>“Tonight, he was phenomenal.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
20.4	2.6	6.4	0.2	1.0

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
20.4	2.6	6.4	0.2	1.0

Darius Garland

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Cavs’ Darius Garland sends ‘ain’t no punk’ message to Celtics

Cavs’ Darius Garland shows he ‘ain’t no punk’ in win over Celtics

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