All-Star Darius Garland Misses Game 3 as Cavaliers Deliver Historic Blow to Heat

MIAMI (AP)— The Cleveland Cavaliers have announced that All-Star guard Darius Garland will miss Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Saturday against the Miami Heat due to a sprained left big toe.

Garland re-injured himself late in Game 2 on Wednesday, where the Cavaliers secured a victory, taking a 2-0 lead in the series. Cleveland’s head coach, Kenny Atkinson, mentioned that Garland would attempt a pregame warmup to assess his ability to participate in Game 3.

However, the warmup clearly did not yield positive results, as the Cavaliers confirmed about half an hour before tip-off that Garland would sit out.

The Cavaliers went on to dominate the game, winning 124-87 and marking the Heat’s most significant playoff defeat ever.

This incident marked yet another noteworthy moment for Garland, who stirred controversy and upset the Heat by claiming after Game 2 that Cleveland’s strategy was to “target Tyler Herro.”

Herro, Miami’s All-Star guard, was not pleased and responded on Friday, saying, “For him to go to the media and discuss the game plan, that says a lot about his character. I’m not concerned about Darius Garland. Anyone who doesn’t play defense should refrain from speaking out.”

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra dismissed the situation as typical post-win chatter from Cleveland. Atkinson added on Saturday that he cannot dictate what players say.

“Tyler is an outstanding player—an All-Star and a fierce competitor on both ends of the court, much like Darius,” Atkinson remarked. “It’s just like at the playground; verbal exchanges can happen. I think it’s being blown out of proportion. Once the game begins, all that talk fades away.”

In the first two games of the series, Garland averaged 24 points (second behind Donovan Mitchell) and led the team with seven assists per game.

For the entire season, Garland maintained averages of 20.6 points and 6.7 assists. The Cavaliers had an impressive record of 62-15 with Garland in the lineup this season, including playoff games, compared to 4-3 without him.