Darius Garland

To survive a bucket-for-bucket, crunchtime clash against a player recorded through the history books by the nickname “Dame Time,” one must be prepared to search deep into the depths of its bag of tricks. From 25 feet out, and with the Cleveland Cavaliers trailing by one in the final 45 seconds, Darius Garland prepared himself to take his best shot. Returning to the well that had given Cleveland’s offense prosperous results thus far — a well-synced high screen-and-roll, Garland attacks once more, losing A.J. Green first through a speedy dribble, and then twice, following a nifty switch-hand, stepback maneuver. Free to set his feet and fire, Garland buries a 3-pointer, giving the Cavaliers a lead it wouldn’t again surrender. Garland’s greatness arrived in the form of 11 of the Cavaliers’ final 12 points, and by game’s end, 39 points (on 15-of-22 shooting), two rebounds, eight assists, and seven 3-pointers on November 4, 2024. Such heroics helped secure a last-second victory over the Milwaukee Bucks for the second time in three nights, moving them to 8-0, tying the franchise’s all-time best start.