Darius Garland is a 90% free throw shooter. That did not matter Wednesday night. The Cleveland point guard had a chance to give his Cavaliers the lead at the free throw line with 2.1 seconds remaining against the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets hit two free throws late while the Cavaliers missed two free throws seconds later, allowing Houston to hold off Cleveland .

The Cavaliers stormed back to tie the game at 107 with just seconds remaining and had a chance to tie or win the game on the final possession with the Rockets leading 109-107. Bizarrely, Rockets forward Tari Eason fouled Darius Garland on a 3-point attempt, giving the Cavaliers sharpshooter a chance to tie or win the game at the line.

The Cavs mounted a fourth-quarter rally that fell short Wednesday night, losing to the Houston Rockets, 109-108.

Alperen Sengun made two free throws with 4.5 seconds left and Darius Garland missed two of three free throws after that to allow the Houston Rockets to hold on for a 109-108 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Before the 2024-25 season started, Darius Garland thought about leaving the Cavaliers following their second-round exit from the playoffs.

Darius Garland entered this season with something specific on his mind. Revenge. “This is my revenge season,” Garland told a small group of reporters, including cleveland.com, on Tuesday morning after the Cavs’ shootaround inside Indiana’s historic Hinkle Fieldhouse,