Darius Garland defeats Damian Lillard and maintains the Cavs' perfect season with a 116-114 win over the Giannis-less Bucks

Star guard Donovan Mitchell delivered the dagger in Milwaukee on Saturday night. Garland did it on Monday, overtaking fellow point guard Damian Lillard with a brilliant fourth quarter.

“Man, it was amazing. I grew up playing checkers. I still watch his film to this day, so to be able to have a little duel, play a few minutes of one-on-one basketball in a high-intensity game like this is super cool,” Garland said. “It was super fun just fighting him. He threw some hard punches at me. I just had to take my hat off to him. I'm glad I was able to just come back and try to do some things that I saw from him and implement them into my game. It was super cool.”

Garland accounted for 11 of Cleveland's last 12 points. He battled with Lillard in the final minutes, scoring 12 of his game-high 39 points in the fourth quarter when it appeared the Cavaliers' unblemished record was in jeopardy.

Thanks in large part to Garland's late-game mastery, the team is one win away from setting a new record to start the season.

“It's really difficult to start 8-0. Honestly, it’s so hard and it’s such a tough league,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We will celebrate it tomorrow. We tell the boys it's a huge achievement. But we know we’ve gotten bigger – we know the bigger picture and what’s coming.”

The Cavs got off to a fast start against the Bucks, who were without two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo because of a right adductor strain. It only took six minutes for Cleveland to open a double-digit lead, which has been its goal this season. The Bucks briefly took the lead — 18 seconds long — and their largest lead was just one. At the end of the first half, the Cavs had scored 73 points and were clearly ahead by 13 points.

But Milwaukee came out of the locker room and showed some grit, outscoring Cleveland 26-13 in the first eight minutes of the third quarter, erasing a one-time 19-point Cavs lead.

At the end of a stunning 12-minute turnaround that saw Milwaukee win the third quarter 31-16, the Bucks were ahead by two early in the fourth quarter – unfamiliar territory for unbeaten Cleveland, which had won just once after three quarters in the previous quarter was seven games behind.

The Bucks then extended that lead to eight points after six minutes – their highest point of the evening.

The arena was tense. The early roars were replaced by murmurs. But the Cavs' faith never wavered.

“I told the guys it was five minutes,” Atkinson said of his message in the team huddle. “I think we’re behind a few times at this point. I'm like, 'This is what it's all about.' Those last five minutes, clutch minutes. How will we execute it? How are we going to finish this game?' There was no panic. If you want to be successful in the playoffs, you have to be really good in the moment of pressure. I liked that we got pressure situations.”

Undaunted and undeterred, this unified group stormed back and tied the score at 106 with about three minutes left on a Garland transition runner. On the ensuing possession, Garland beat a helpless Milwaukee defense with a free throw that capped the 10-0 push.

Just when it looked like the building might finally exhale, Lillard responded with a binding mid-range pull-up. The eight-time All-Star — and prominent member of the NBA's 75th anniversary team — then hit a devastating three-pointer to put Milwaukee back in the lead. Lillard was up to 36 points on the night.

Would the series end like this? Not quite. It wasn't time for the lady yet. Garland responded – again.

The young point guard, who described last year as one of the worst of his life, made two consecutive shots, including a deafening 3-pointer, finally putting away the feisty, undermanned Bucks and defeating Cleveland, which came up short as a replacement for small forward Dean Wade (illness) and Caris LeVert (knee pain) made history.

Next

The Cavs will travel to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans on Wednesday night. The meeting point is scheduled for 8 p.m