Garland debuts, Clippers surge to win in second half

Welcome, Darius.

It was rocky early for the guard, but Darius Garland finished with 12 points in his debut. (Photo credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images)

Even highly anticipated debuts can start rocky.

Darius Garland found that out the hard way on Monday night up in the Bay Area, as the early returns showcased rust, gaffes, and a learning curve. But that’s the beauty of basketball, same with life -- your opening act doesn’t have to doom the whole show.

Garland found his footing, and so did the LA Clippers (29-31) as the guard and his new group stormed back with a thunderous second-half surge to upend the Golden State Warriors, 114-101.

“It was my fault. We put him in ‘77s’ (double-drag) and they were jump-switching to a blitz, or jump-switching to an ICE, and he didn’t have a lot of space,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue revealed postgame.

But, like any coach worth their salt, Lue diagnosed the problem and quickly remedied the situation as soon as he could.

“In the second half, the adjustment was just single pick, middle of the floor, let him go either way, let him operate, and that’s what really turned him loose. In that first half, you haven’t played in a while, and soon as you come out there, they blitz you every time you come off a pick-and-roll. It was a tough position to be in. But I thought in the second half, he found his rhythm a little better.”