HOUSTON (AP) — Darius Garland scored 26 points and Evan Mobley added 21 as the Cleveland Cavaliers routed the short-handed Houston Rockets 113-95 Thursday night despite missing Donovan Mitchell.
Garland, the fifth overall pick in the 2019 draft who turned 23 on Thursday, also had nine assists and four rebounds for the Cavs.
“Darius has continued to grow,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “This is a place where we’ve seen him grow the most is understanding the moment, understanding each game and how it’s different and what it takes from him to be a tone-setter.”
The Cavaliers led by 26 at halftime after scoring 74 points in the first two periods. The Rockets cut it to 22 on a basket by rookie Jabari Smith Jr. with 9½ minutes left in the third. But Cleveland scored the next 10 points, with 3s by Garland and Dean Wade, to extend the lead to 89-57 midway through the quarter.
“Everything has been that hunt for consistency,” Bickerstaff said. “We’ve had leads before and we get a little lax and loose with the ball and things like that. But I thought they had the right approach for the majority of the game tonight.”
The Rockets ended the quarter with an 11-3 run, with five points from rookie TyTy Washington, but they still trailed 97-74 entering the fourth.
Tari Eason opened the fourth with a tip-in shot for the Rockets before Garland and Cedi Osman made consecutive 3-pointers to push Cleveland’s advantage to 103-76.
The Cavaliers scored five straight points, capped by a 3 from Wade, to make it 111-89 with about 3 1/2 minutes left, and Cleveland’s starters sat down after that.
Mitchell sat out for the fourth time in five games with a groin strain. He returned Tuesday night after missing three games, but aggravated it near the end of that game to keep him out Thursday….