The Cleveland Cavaliers arrived in Miami not expecting something like this to happen. The struggling Miami Heat managed to outrun the Cavs 140-138 before the home crowd. But not before a heart-stopping moment at the start. Darius Garland, who came back after missing the first seven games of the season, got fouled during the first half. And despite his best efforts, he was limping for the rest of his minutes on the floor. He ultimately hobbled out of the game, was ruled out for the rest of it.

According to reports, he hurt his big toe. It might be pretty serious too, but Coach Kenny Atkinson said after the game, they still have to wait and find out. “I haven’t gotten an update yet… Obviously, couldn’t continue. Took a fall there and tried to come back. I mean, we’ll get an update here soon.”

About Garland staying in the game after halftime despite being in visible pain, Atkinson said, “we talked about it, talked about it with medical and they, and Darius, he wanted to give it another try. And then went back at it, and then just couldn’t continue.”

The 25-year-old played about 20 minutes. He tallied 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in that time. The team even lost their coach when Atkinson was ejected after a second tech.

Donovan Mitchell later tied the game 138-138 with a fadeaway three in overtime before Andrew Wiggins caught an alley-oop from Nikola Jovic to ice the game.

Garland had previously injured his big toe and underwent surgery this past summer. He missed the opening games but returned last week. So far, it’s unclear whether he’s injured the same toe.

Atkinson preferred to assume he had not aggravated the same injury, but the last update he had on the PG was at halftime.

It was concerning why Atkinson would play him in the second half, knowing his history. But the coach said, “you have to defer to the player. I have a good trust with Darius, and he plays through a lot. So I kind of kept him out there. Maybe I should have pulled him earlier, but again, I trust him. We have good communication. But then, you know, it got to the point where he had to give the foul right, to stop the play, and we got him out.”

The discussion moved on to Atkinson’s ejection. But the concern over Darius’ injury looms over the Cavs locker room.

Second setback takes a toll on Darius Garland’s mindset

Without Darius Garland and Kenny Atkinson, the Cavaliers turned the second half into a tug-of-war. In overtime, it was anyone’s game. Miami’s Andrew Wiggins caught a lob pass and scored the buzzer-beater, ending the game at 140-138 for the Heat. Now, both teams have a 7-4 record.

In the Cavs’ locker room at Kaseya Center, concern over Garland’s condition was palpable. Donovan Mitchell had not focused on his last-second heroics, knowing his teammate’s mindset after this injury.

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“I came back here with him and I said, ‘Hey, this is part of it. I’d rather this happen today than in four or five months, right?” Spida revealed the conversation he had with Garland.

Although Darius showed remarkable grit by getting back into the game, this apparently took a toll on him. It fell on his teammates to keep his spirits up.

As even Mitchell said, “I mean, it’s easy for me to say that, right? It’s easy for us to sit here and say, ‘You’ll be fine,’ and he’s not trying to hear that. But at the end of the day, hey, there’s going to be setbacks. There’s going to be things that happen, right? He’s been—and it’s not about, you know, him not working. I could see if he was upset because, and it’s like, ‘Hey, you didn’t do the things necessary.'”

Only last week, Mitchell was telling reporters that having Garland back gave them confidence. This sets things back a bit. But he’s not letting go of the confidence.

Mitchell assured that he’s seen Garland work out in the gym, rehab the previously injured toe, and checked all the boxes to come back. He’s been in the gym. He’s been working on himself. So, there’s nothing to be worried about.

At the end, Mitchell stated, “He’s fine. He is in good spirits, but in those moments, I know it’s tough.” 

An updated report on Darius Garland’s injury is awaited. Meanwhile, we’re on the lookout for his name on the next pre-game report when the Cavs and Heat have a rematch on Wednesday.