The Cavaliers still had a chance for the win because of the flagrant foul. They retained possession and set up an inbounds play for a Donovan Mitchell game-winning attempt from the corner. But Amen Thompson got a hand in Mitchell's face, and his shot was well off-target.

Darius Garland couldn’t close this time. Cleveland mounted a fourth-quarter rally that fell short Wednesday night, losing to the Houston Rockets, 109-108, inside Houston’s Toyota Center. The NBA-best Cavs are just 3-3 over their last six games.

The Cleveland Cavaliers went down to the wire with the Houston Rockets, but they weren’t able to escape with the win, losing 109-108. The Cavs had a chance to win at the end with Darius Garland at the free-throw line,

Trailing the Houston Rockets 109–107 in the closing seconds, Cavaliers guard Darius Garland was fouled on a three-point attempt by Tari Eason and was gifted three free-throw attempts. After review, officials deemed that Eason's close-out was actually "reckless" and upgraded the personal foul to a flagrant foul 1—meaning Garland would get three free-throw attempts and the Cavaliers would receive the ball.