Game Night Observations: Darius Garland's Most Important Play Stone Cold Closer Donovan Mitchell

The Cleveland Cavaliers moved to 13-0 on the season after a 114-106 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.

One of the biggest plays of the Cavs 114-106 win on Wednesday won’t go down in the stat sheet, but it helped turn a potential loss into the team’s 13th straight win. 

Caris LeVert missed a three-pointer from the right corner, leading to a Philadelphia 76ers runout. Caleb Martin had a fast break with only Darius Garland standing between him and a layup that could cut Cleveland’s lead to one point with under three minutes to play. It’s a routine play. One that rarely goes awry. 

Garland got back on defense and, without fouling Martin, did enough to make him uncomfortable enough to force a miss at the rim. 

Garland doesn’t get a counting stat for that play. It doesn’t show up in the box score. It won’t be on any of his highlight tapes and isn’t the most memorable thing he did on Wednesday night. But it might have been the play that swung the game in the Cavaliers’ favor.