Cavaliers nipped by Grizzlies 110-106

    The two surprising teams in the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference with each team with one of the best young guards in the game hooked up in Cleveland and the game came down to the final seconds before the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 110-106 in Cleveland.

Darius Garland led Cleveland in his return to the lineup with 27 points and ten assists with Jarrett Allen (22 and 12) and Kevin Love (18 and 10) each adding double-doubles to the stat sheet in defeat.

Cleveland drops to 21-17 and starts a six-game road trip Friday in Portland and against the Trail Blazers.

Swashbucklings

1) Both Darius Garland and Memphis guard Ja Morant played excellent basketball in their head-to-head battle but in the end, it was Morant and the Grizzlies that came up biggest at the end of the game.

Morant hit a bank shot with under a minute to give Memphis a two-point lead and seconds later after Cleveland tied the game on an Evan Mobley hook and after Memphis scored to take the lead, Morant made a steal off a pass intended to get the ball into Darius Garland's hands and broke into the open court for a layup.

Cleveland would cut the lead back to two before Morant iced the game with two free throws to put the game away,

2) However, those free throws should not have been attempted as when Memphis inbounded the ball to Ja Morant, Morant's sneaker clearly slips and should have been called for traveling.

However, with an official standing literally in front of Morant, watching the entire play there wasn't a call made and Cleveland was forced to foul Morant.

Inexcusable.

3) I'm a huge fan of Ja Morant and I was on record before the  2019 draft that I would have taken Morant if I was picking first and with the hype over Zion Williamson, there weren't many people that agreed with me.

New Orleans tabbed Williamson first overall with Memphis scooping Morant with the second pick.

Williamson has been an impact player when he plays but has struggled with injuries.

4) Darius Garland was a player that I wasn't thrilled with after his rookie season but improved with each game.

Garland stood toe to toe with Morant and gave as good as he got.

5) Garland's passing helped Jarrett Allen hit eleven of fourteen shots on the evening with several alley-oops or passes that led to slams.

6) The loss was Cleveland's fourth in five games and with a six-game road trip coming up, the Cavaliers are staring at what may be the pivotal stage of the season.

If the Cavaliers could get a split of the six games (Portland, Golden State, Sacramento, Utah, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City) the schedule begins to get easier for the final months of the season but should the Cavaliers struggle on the road (anything 2-4 or worse) the surprising season could be headed for choppy waters.