CLEVELAND – This time it was Darius Garland's turn.

For the second time in the last three nights, the Cavs prevailed against the Milwaukee Bucks with some late-game heroics. Cleveland defeated Milwaukee 116-114 on Monday night in front of a raucous crowd at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Cavs are now 8-0 on the season, matching the best start in franchise history, which came in 1976-77.

Star guard Donovan Mitchell delivered the dagger in Milwaukee on Saturday night. Garland did it on Monday, overtaking fellow point guard Damian Lillard with a brilliant fourth quarter.

Garland accounted for 11 of Cleveland's last 12 points. He battled with Lillard in the final minutes, scoring 12 of his game-high 39 points in the fourth quarter when it appeared the Cavaliers' unblemished record was in jeopardy.

Thanks to Garland, the team is one win away from setting a new record to start the season.

The Cavs got off to a fast start against the Bucks, who were without star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (right adductor strain). It only took six minutes to build a double-digit lead. The Bucks briefly took the lead – for 18 seconds – and their largest lead was one. At the end of the first half, the Cavs had scored 73 points and were ahead by 13 points.

But Milwaukee came out of the locker room and showed some grit, outscoring Cleveland 26-13 in the first eight minutes of the third quarter, erasing a one-time 19-point Cavs lead.

At the end of a 12-minute turnaround, the Bucks were ahead by two early in the fourth quarter. It was uncharted territory for undefeated Cleveland. The Bucks then extended that lead to eight points after six minutes – their highest point of the evening.

Undaunted and undeterred, the connected Cavs stormed back and tied the score at 106 with about three minutes left on a Garland transition runner. On the ensuing possession, Garland beat a helpless Milwaukee defense with a free throw that capped the 10-0 push.

Just when it looked like the building might finally exhale, Lillard responded with a binding mid-range pull-up. The Bucks All-Star then hit a devastating triple to put Milwaukee back in the lead, giving him 36 points on the night.

Would it end like this? Not quite. It wasn't time for the lady yet.

Garland responded – again. The young point guard, who described last year as one of the worst of his life, hit back-to-back shots, including a deafening three-pointer, finally holding off the feisty, undermanned Bucks and taking Cleveland to history.

Next

The Cavs will travel to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans on Wednesday night. The meeting point is scheduled for 8 p.m