On Jan. 8, with the clock ticking below 30 seconds and one of the NBA's top defenders standing across from him, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland had a chance to call game in the biggest matchup of the regular season.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace held firm as Garland dribbled just inside the 3-point arc before pulling back briefly to cross the ball over to the left side of his body. He accelerated directly past Wallace into the paint and zipped between Isaiah Hartenstein and Jalen Williams, both of whom were a step late in providing meaningful resistance at the rim.
Garland laid the ball in to push the Cavs ahead by seven points and force an OKC timeout. But between the home crowd's euphoric reaction and Garland's teammates taking turns giving him celebratory chest bumps, the reality was clear: The Cavs had all but sealed a win in the massive showdown between the league's top two teams.
"We don't win this game last year," Cleveland star Donovan Mitchell said afterward, in a statement that rang true in multiple ways.
Garland, who leads the NBA in clutch field goal percentage by a whopping eight percentage points (65.5) after ranking 104th out 107 qualified players (28.9) in the category last season, likely wouldn't have delivered.
Notching a big-time victory over an elite club like the Thunder probably doesn't happen, either, as the Cavs were just 3-6 against teams that finished with at least 55 wins last season, including an 0-2 mark against OKC. (The Cavs and Thunder, who boast the league's best records, square off in a rematch Thursday night.)
That was last season. These Cavs have a 34-5 record -- their 33-4 start was not only the best in franchise history, but also better than any 37-game stretch of LeBron James' Cleveland career -- and the attention of the league at the midway point of 2024-25.
More importantly, the Cavaliers are showing what a healthy core of young stars -- mixed with a new coach's subtle yet impactful style changes -- can deliver: a juggernaut on both sides of the court with a shot at joining a group of historic teams and winning an NBA title.
But this didn't happen overnight. Here's how Cleveland became a team on pace for 70-plus wins, their chances of getting there and why the league probably should have seen it coming.