Aggressive Garland scores 32, Cavaliers bounce back to win, even series with Knicks

CLEVELAND (AP) — Darius Garland couldn’t change what happened in a disappointing playoff debut.

On Tuesday night, Garland made sure he didn’t repeat it.

Setting the tone with his aggressiveness from the start, Garland scored 26 of his 32 points in the first half and the Cavaliers evened their Eastern Conference playoff series against New York at one game apiece with a 107-90 victory.

“That’s the All-Star we know, and it was good to see,” said Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell, one of many who urged Garland to be more assertive. “He came out with a purpose. There was just a different look in his eye.”

Garland scored 15 points in the second quarter, when Cleveland tightened down defensively and dominated New York, forcing nine turnovers on the way to opening a 20-point halftime lead. The Cavs pushed their lead to 29 in the fourth.

Darius Garland (32 PTS, 7 AST, 6-10 3PM) was on fire in Game 2 as Cleveland secured the win!

The Cavaliers will be in New York for Game 3 with the series evened up at 1-1