The Cleveland Cavaliers entered Game 3 of their second-round series against the Indiana Pacers. Cleveland got a boost before the road game, though. Darius Garland made his return to the lineup after missing four games with a toe injury. He and Evan Mobley both returned from injury, but Garland didn't contribute as much as usual thanks to foul trouble.
With 4:42 left in the second quarter, Garland pushed off against Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin. The shove earned him an offensive foul, his fourth of the game before halftime.
Darius Garland picks up his fourth foul in the first half of Game 3 😳 pic.twitter.com/dzVHgEcMy0
— ESPN (@espn) May 10, 2025
Garland's foul trouble in Game 3 held him back from playing his normal amount of minutes. He played just 12 minutes in the first half, far less than he is used to, especially in the postseason. Luckily for him, his team didn't skip a beat without him. The Cavaliers entered halftime with a commanding 66-45 lead.




After losing the first two games of the series at home, Cleveland faces a daunting task as they try to fight their way back. Less than 10% of the teams who fall behind 0-2 in a series come back to advance. With their first half performance on Friday, though, the Cavaliers are trying to prove that they are one of the teams who can make it happen.
Mobley and Donovan Mitchell led the way for Cleveland in the first half, two of four Cavaliers who scored in double figures. Garland was the only starter who didn't crack 10 points, only scoring five points in the first two quarters. He didn't play for the rest of the half after picking up his fourth foul, and Kenny Atkinson will have to be careful with his All-Star in the second half.
While having a 20-point lead would make a team comfortable in any game, Cleveland can't afford to cruise in the second half. The Pacers made it to the second round and won Game 2 on the road thanks to ferocious comebacks in the fourth quarter. Garland and the Cavaliers need to remain focused and finish Game 3 strong.