Cavs’ Darius Garland makes poignant injury announcement after Game 3 return vs. Pacers

Darius Garland could've sat out again on Friday night.

But there was no way the Cleveland Cavaliers star point guard was going to do that with his Cavs down 2-0 to the Pacers in the Eastern Conference semis. His teammates needed him.

And so Garland gritted his way through 25 tough minutes, scoring 10 points and dishing out three assists while providing the most spark to his team simply by making the effort to be out there.

Garland, dealing with a nagging toe injury, "is still in pain," writes Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor. But he pushed through it.

Afterward, Garland summed up his recent days with this line: "Y'all don't understand what I'm going through."

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He expressed his frustration with the battle to try and be back on the court.

Clearly, Garland cares. And anyone who questioned that because they scoffed at the idea of a toe injury holding him out? They missed the mark.

Garland wasn't his usual self in Game 3. The Cavs had a chance to limit his minutes a bit, too, with their big lead and with Donovan Mitchell dropping 43 points.

He may not be back to full health for a while, given that he's now playing playoff minutes while hurting.

But it's what he's got to do. Only he understands what he's going through, but the whole NBA can understand what he means to the Cavs, and that's why he's back on the court.

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