Garland shines as Cavaliers beat Spurs, end 5-game skid

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Darius Garland scored a career-high 37 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the San Antonio Spurs 125-101 on Monday night to snap a five-game skid.

Collin Sexton added 22 points for Cleveland. Isaiah Hartenstein scored a season-high 16, and Taurean Prince finished with 14.

San Antonio finished the longest homestand in franchise history at 2-7, dropping from seventh to ninth in the Western Conference. It marked the fourth time during the homestand that an opponent beat the Spurs to snap a losing streak.

DeMar DeRozan had 25 points for San Antonio. Rudy Gay, Derrick White and Keldon Johnson each had 13 points.

Cleveland entered the game as the league’s lowest scoring team, averaging just 102.7 points, but had no trouble scoring against a lethargic San Antonio defense.

The Spurs were without starting point guard and defensive stalwart Dejounte Murray, who was a late scratch with a sore right foot. Murray averaged 38 minutes in San Antonio’s previous games, a pair of overtime losses.

Garland took advantage, shooting 14 for 22 from the field, including 5 for 10 on 3-pointers.

Cleveland shot 52% in its first victory since defeating the Chicago Bulls on March 24. It was 12 for 34 on 3-pointers.

The Spurs started well, leading by eight points in the opening quarter, only to squander that advantage just as they did in their two previous losses. The Cavaliers built a 13-point lead in the second quarter and extended it to 32 points in the second half.

San Antonio has trailed by double digits in 62% of its games this season. It is 9-21 when falling behind by 10 points this season.

Coming off two overtime losses in three days, the Spurs emptied their bench with 8:30 remaining and the Cavaliers leading 107-83.

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: Garland’s previous career high was 29 points against the Spurs on March 29. … C Jarrett Allen missed his fifth straight game while following the league’s concussion protocol. … Larry Nance Jr. missed the game with an undisclosed illness. … Cleveland is 9-40 in San Antonio. The Spurs had won five straight home games against the Cavaliers prior to losing consecutive contests to them.

Spurs: G Lonnie Walker IV missed his fourth straight game with a sore right wrist. Coach Gregg Popovich said he hopes Walker will return during the team’s upcoming road trip. … Before beating the Spurs during their homestand, Charlotte had lost three straight, Indiana was a on three-game skid and Atlanta had suffered two consecutive losses.

UP NEXT

Cavaliers: Visit the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.

Spurs: Visit the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.