MIAMI (AP) — All-Star guard Darius Garland was ruled out by the Cleveland Cavaliers for Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Saturday against the Miami Heat because of a sprained left big toe.
Garland aggravated the injury late in Game 2 of the series on Wednesday, the Cavs winning that game to go up 2-0 in the matchup. Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said Garland would go through a pregame warmup to determine if he could “give it a whirl” in Game 3.
Evidently, that did not go well. The Cavs said about 30 minutes before game time that Garland would not play.
It was the latest event in a newsy few days for Garland, who created a stir — and raised Miami’s ire a bit — by saying after Game 2 that Cleveland’s offensive game plan was to “pick on Tyler Herro.”
Herro, Miami’s All-Star guard, wasn’t amused and responded Friday. “To go to the media to talk about the game plan and this and that says a lot about him,” Herro said. “I’m not worried about Darius Garland. Somebody that doesn’t play defense shouldn’t be talking, either.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra shrugged it off as Cleveland just talking after winning two games. Atkinson said Saturday he doesn’t control what players say.
“Tyler’s a great player. He’s an All-Star. Great competitor, great competitor on both ends, much like Darius,” Atkinson said. “It’s like the playground, right? You go out there … sometimes there’s some verbal stuff. I think it’s overblown. And once that ball is thrown up, none of that stuff matters.”
Garland averaged 24 points (second on the team behind Donovan Mitchell) and a team-best seven assists per game in the first two games of the series.
For the season, Garland averaged 20.6 points and 6.7 assists for Cleveland. The Cavs entered Saturday 62-15 when Garland plays this season, including playoffs, and 4-3 when he does not.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
