CLEVELAND, Ohio -- First, the qualifiers.

It was only a preseason game for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the exhibition opener against Buenos Aires San Lorenzo at newly transformed Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. While San Lorenzo is the reigning Argentinean championship team, their roster has a dearth of NBA players, if any, and it’s only the second time they have played against an NBA foe. Former Miami Heat center Joel Anthony is listed on the roster but didn’t make the trip to Cleveland.

OK, now that’s out of the way. In his first live game action since November, prized rookie Darius Garland, the Cavaliers’ reward for one of their worst seasons in franchise history, provided a sneak peek into his potential during the 120-89 win.

“He hasn’t had enough practice time to understand everything, but he does really know how to play,” head coach John Beilein said following the win. “It was good. He gave us a really good flow, where it really made it much easier for everybody else. That’s a little of what we saw in the scrimmage.”

With his family -- mom, dad and brother -- in attendance, Garland looked the part of a top pick and helped create separation against plucky San Lorenzo in the second quarter.

Garland, who missed portions of training camp because of soreness in his right foot and didn’t participate in his first 5-on-5 until Saturday, scored nine points on 4-of-4 shooting to go with two assists in 14 minutes.

When Garland made his debut, entering for the first time to start the second quarter, it was actually a tight game. The Cavs trailed 24-21. By the time he checked out, Cleveland was up 47-37.

“I mean, when we went in the huddle we were like, ‘We’re going to play for real this quarter’ so that’s what we did," Garland said. "Came out, punched them in the mouth and got a good lead on them.”

Garland wasn’t solely responsible for that surge, but his fingerprints were definitely on it. During that near-seven-minute stretch, Garland tallied five points, dished out both of his assists, grabbed a rebound and forced a turnover.

A few days prior to the NBA Draft, a large Cavaliers contingent, including Beilein, flew to Los Angeles for a private workout and closer look at Garland, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in just his fifth college game. That day, Garland put on a memorable shooting display, dazzling many with his effortless range.

His first basket was a glimpse. Using a Tristan Thompson screen at the top of the key, Garland crossed over from left to right, stepped back to 31 feet and flicked the ball through the net with ease.

“It felt really good," Garland said. "I mean, it looked good to me.”

His next hoop came in transition -- a hanging layup where he let the defender fly by and tossed the ball softly off the backboard.

While his scoring ability played a large role in getting selected with the fifth-overall pick, Garland’s innate feel for the game has stood out most to his teammates. They first noticed it during Kevin Love’s pre-camp workouts. It’s been on display during training camp. And it carried over into the preseason opener.

Being used as the primary initiator in his first stint on the floor, with last year’s eighth overall pick Collin Sexton as the 2 guard, Garland repeatedly probed the defense with a clever handle, got into the lane and looked to create for his teammates.

He did that early in the second quarter, getting Cedi Osman a clean 3-pointer that didn’t drop. No assist for Garland, but it was the proper play. A few possessions later, Garland did the same -- only this time Osman buried the open triple.

“I mean, I’m a point guard so that’s what I’m supposed to do anyway," Garland said. "The shooting just comes natural to me, but the playmaking, that’s what I’m here to do. Try to get my teammates involved. Make them better.”

A stiffer test will come Friday in Detroit. But it was a promising start for Garland, who said hours before tipoff that he just wanted to “come out with a win and knock them out.”

The same goes for many of the Cavs, as they shook off a chilly shooting first quarter in their new digs and cruised to a win, with the end-of-bench camp invites closing it out.

Jordan Clarkson, who averaged a career-high in scoring last season, picked up where he left off. Playing the 3 for most of the night, he tallied a team-high 17 points on 6-of-11 from the field and 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Larry Nance Jr. chipped in with 15 points. Thompson recorded a double-double, likely the first of many this season, with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Kevin Porter Jr., the 30th pick in the draft, showed the scoring potential that has had many buzzing in camp. Porter poured in 16 points in 14 minutes.

“Really I was just trying to get my feet wet,” Porter said. “I was saying that all game, just getting a feel of the bigger court. I was just playing my game and letting it come to me.”

Prior to Monday’s game, Beilein said he simply wanted to have some good film to watch the next morning. He needed something to learn from instead of the intrasquad scrimmages from this week.

Monday night wasn’t perfect. It was the first step in a long journey, a night where no conclusions should be formed, in part because it’s only preseason against a non-NBA team. But the performance from Garland -- and many others -- should at least provide some nice viewing Tuesday.

“I can’t wait until the film session,” Beilein said. “It will be an hour long. It’ll be great. But we are going to learn a lot. I am going to be cutting the film personally, at least on the offensive end, so that we can make big improvements.”

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