MIAMI (AP) — Darius Garland will get plenty of time off now.
The Cleveland Cavaliers ruled the All-Star guard out of Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Miami Heat on Monday night, the second straight game he missed while dealing with a sprained left great toe.
He wasn't needed. Cleveland won the game 138-83, won the series 4-0 and now won't play again until Saturday at the earliest.
“It's huge. It's huge. Huge," Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said of getting some time off now — for Garland's sake and a slew of other reasons. “We'll see what happens, if it gives us a day or two days. Looking big picture, hopefully we can extend this thing and it gives us another advantage.”
The Cavs will open Round 2 at home sometime against either Indiana or Milwaukee. The Pacers lead the series 3-1, with Game 5 in Indianapolis on Tuesday night.
Garland aggravated the issue late in Game 2. He sat out Cleveland's 121-84 win in Game 3 on Saturday, then tried to do some things on the court before the game Monday before the Cavs made the decision to sit him again.
“I think I've said this: I don't think it's an eight-week thing,” Atkinson said. “I think it's managing pain and the toe's a tough one. You're just constantly hitting it.”
Garland was one of about 10 Cavs players at an optional workout Sunday at the University of Miami. He didn't take part in any scrimmaging during that session.
Garland averaged 24 points and a team-best seven assists per game in the first two games of the series.
For the season, Garland averaged 20.6 points and 6.7 assists for Cleveland. The Cavs are 62-15 when Garland plays this season, including playoffs, and 6-3 when he does not.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, center, goes to the basket between Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell, left, and center Bam Adebayo (13) in the second half in Game 2 of an NBA first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) shoots as Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith, left, defends in the second half in Game 2 of an NBA first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
ADELBODEN, Switzerland (AP) — The big surprise of the World Cup slalom season scored his second win Sunday adding to his fast-rising reputation before the Winter Olympics.
Paco Rassat raced to the fastest time in the second run to rise from fourth place, and push two Norwegians down the podium steps after they had been fastest in the morning run.
United States-born Atle Lie McGrath was edged out by 0.18 seconds and first-run leader Henrik Kristoffersen dropped to third, trailing 0.20 behind Rassat.
The 27-year-old Frenchman had a career-best result of ninth in World Cup races before this Olympic season started.
Rassat now has two wins, a third place and two sixth places this season and shapes as a medal contender for the Milano Cortina Olympics. The men’s slalom is on Feb. 16 at Bormio.
“To win on this crazy hill at Adelboden, It’s something really unbelievable," Rassat told Swiss broadcaster RTS, describing his season as “a magnificent surprise.”
Rassat also took the lead in the seasonlong World Cup slalom standings, ahead of his France teammate Clément Noël, the defending Olympic champion. Noël tied for eighth Sunday.
McGrath was runner-up in the Adelboden slalom for the third time in four years.
“It’s kind of crazy,” said McGrath, whose father Felix skied for the U.S. at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. “I’m of course super happy, it’s such a challenging slope and mentally it’s one of the toughest places to perform because of this amazing crowd.”
Another packed finish-area crowd at Adelboden observed a minute’s silence before racing for the victims of the fatal fire in a bar in nearby Crans-Montana on New Year’s Day. Crans-Montana hosts men’s and women’s World Cup races in three weeks’ time.
The World Cup overall standings leader, four-time title holder Marco Odermatt, does not ski slalom and his huge lead was cut a little by Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who placed fourth. Pinheiro Braathen was second to Odermatt in the classic giant slalom Saturday.
The men’s World Cup circuit stays in central Switzerland for the storied Lauberhorn meeting at Wengen, for a super-G on Friday, the classic downhill Saturday and a slalom Sunday.
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
France's Paco Rassat speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
France's Paco Rassat reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Finland's Eduard Hallberg speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen ahead of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
