Nearly a month after trading James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Darius Garland, the Los Angeles Clippers welcomed their new two-time All-Star to the floor in a 114-101 win over the Golden State Warriors on Monday.

In his debut, Garland notched 12 points on 4-9 shooting in just under 23 minutes of play off the bench. Garland entered in a reserve role after being sidelined since mid-January due to a right great toe sprain. 

After the win, Garland talked about the process of getting acclimated to his new team and making his debut. 

“We're just getting adjusted,” Garland said. “You know, getting adjusted to LA, getting to know the guys, just knowing the staff, everybody around the organization, and then just trying to get back to me, getting healthy, training staff have been with me a lot, been doing a lot of work, so I really appreciate them just getting me back to this point.” 

Garland has been plagued by sprains to both of his great toes over the last several months. In Cleveland’s first-round sweep of the Miami Heat in the 2025 playoffs, Garland missed the last two games of the series and the first two games of the Cavs’ following series against the Indiana Pacers with a sprain in his left great toe.  

Garland would return in Game 3 of the series against Indiana and play the remainder of it through Cleveland’s elimination in Game 5, but he was clearly hobbled as he averaged 14 points on 34% shooting over the three contests he appeared in. In the offseason, Garland underwent surgery to repair the injury. 

This season, he did not make his debut until Nov. 5 due to ongoing recovery from the operation, and he appeared in 26 games for the Cavs before the seismic trade deadline move that sent him to Los Angeles for Harden. 

Garland discussed what it was like coming off the bench — something he has not done in a long time.  

“T-Lue was like, ‘Man, you coming off the bench?’ I was like, bet, it's whatever. I wanted to fit in, so I didn't want to disrupt anything that we had going on because we had been on a good little run,” Garland said. “So, yeah, just came off the bench. It was kind of weird at first. I told him it felt weird at first, but after it got going a little bit, it was cool.” 

It was not the most statistically pleasing game for Garland as he committed five turnovers and only logged two assists, but he highlighted a moment that made him feel like his game was returning to him. 

“I wasn't expecting to get in blinks after a month off, Garland said. “But Steve Kerr always got something up under his sleeve. So probably after the first tre ball I made, I was like, ‘okay, I think I knocked the cobwebs off a little bit.’ 

Garland has become available for the Clippers during a key juncture in their season. At 29-31, they sit in ninth place in the Western Conference, and, after beating the Warriors, they sit just a game and a half behind Golden State for the eighth seed.  

Garland is averaging 18.8 points and 6.7 assists this season, and his presence will provide significant help for Kawhi Leonard. With 22 games remaining and playoff hopes on the line, the Clippers will need it.