The Cleveland Cavaliers hosted the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night — it was the last home game of the year.
In a fight to break the Nets’ eight-game winning streak, the Cavs lost 125-117.
While the Cavs didn’t have the best night, Darius Garland kept the game alive till the end.
Garland opened up the game with a three-pointer to get the rhythm going, but Nets forward Kevin Durant went tic-for-tac with him. Durant put up 12 points to Garland’s 9 in the first quarter.
The Nets applied even more pressure on the Cavs in the second quarter, but Garland stayed consistent, only missing one shot in the first half. Around the four-minute mark, Garland hit a three that cut the Nets’ lead to one, but Brooklyn then went on 20-6 run to regain a double-digit lead in a matter of minutes. Nets guard and former Cavalier Kyrie Irving contributed four threes over that time, taking the Nets into the half with a 16-point lead.
After that intense ending, the Nets were on a roll. Irving and Durant just kept going at it with three-pointers, while the Cavs struggled to cut the deficit.
Cleveland tried to make a comeback in the fourth, but it was too late. Garland made two threes back-to-back with under eight minutes to go in the game, followed by smooth jumpers and free throws down the stretch, but the Cavs still ended up losing by eight.
Garland finished the night with 46 points, eight assists, and three rebounds. He shot 70% from the field and made five out of seven three-pointers.
Irving and Durant combined for 64 points and ten assists. Durant had nine rebounds, while Irving had four.
The outcome shifted the Eastern Conference Conference standings. The Nets now sit in third place, bumping the Cavs to fourth.
The Cavaliers will be on the road to take on the Pacers in Indiana on Thursday.
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