Darius Garland eases into Clippers debut, then helps lead comeback win Darius Garland, who had not played since January 14 due to toe injuries on both feet, faced a challenging start to his Los Angeles Clippers debut. The former two-time All-Star, traded for James Harden on February 4, came off the bench for the first time in nearly five years and was limited to 23 minutes due to a minutes restriction. In the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center, Garland struggled to find his rhythm, with his dribble taken by Moses Moody, a screen trap by Al Horford, and a steal from Nate Williams behind him. “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting to get a blitz after a month off,” Garland said postgame, his legs submerged in ice water at his locker. “But Steve Kerr always got something up under his sleeve.” After a scoreless first quarter, Garland began to find his footing in the second half. A key moment came when he used a Brook Lopez screen to hit a pull-up 3-pointer, which he later described as a turning point. “I was like ‘All right, I think I knocked the cobwebs off a little bit,’” he said. The Clippers trailed 56-42 at halftime on the second night of a back-to-back, but they outscored the Warriors 72-45 in the second half, including a dominant 40-14 performance in the paint. Garland finished with 12 points, two assists, and a steal, overcoming five turnovers to help the Clippers outscore the Warriors by 5 points in his minutes. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue noted that the Warriors’ defensive adjustments initially hindered Garland’s effectiveness, as the team’s shape-shifting defense limited the plays the Clippers wanted to use for him.#los_angeles_clippers #darius_garland #moses_moody #al_horford #nate_williams
