Donovan Mitchell scored 17 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and Darius Garland contributed 21 points and nine assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers held on for a 121-112 win over the visiting Miami Heat in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series yesterday (Philippine time).
Cleveland holds a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven set heading into Game 3 in Miami.
After Miami, which trailed by as many as 19 points, pulled within 105-103 on a Tyler Herro jumper with 3:11 remaining. Donovan Mitchell answered with a midrange basket and drained a 32-footer off a Jarrett Allen steal to give top-seeded Cleveland some breathing room at 110-103.
Miami got the deficit down to five by scoring on its next two possessions, but the Heat missed their next two shots before Evan Mobley sank two free throws with 25.7 seconds left to put Cleveland up 115-108.
“I love the fact that the game happened like this,” Donovan Mitchell said. “I’d rather win like this than by 20 like we did the other day … The biggest thing is we responded when we needed to and closed out the game.”
Cleveland made 11 three-pointers in the second quarter, a team playoff record for any period. Former Miami forward Max Strus made three of them, and Mitchell, Sam Merrill and De’Andre Hunter had two apiece. Mitchell finished 7 of 10 from beyond the arc.
Herro collected 33 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Heat, who lost the first two games in a postseason series for the first time since the 2021 first round against the Milwaukee Bucks. Bam Adebayo had 11 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, and Haywood Highsmith scored 17 points and made 5-of-6 three-point attempts.
Cavaliers All-Star Evan Mobley had 20 points and six rebounds, and Hunter added 12 points after going scoreless in the opener. Cleveland made 22 three-pointers, three shy of the league record.
Strus had 12 points and Mobley and Donovan Mitchell each scored 10 in the first half as Cleveland built a 68-51 lead, despite Herro’s 17 points for the Heat. The Cavaliers held 19-point advantages in the second and third quarters.
Davion Mitchell replaced Alec Burks as Miami’s starting shooting guard and amassed 18 points and six assists.
“We’ll get home, get a good cooked meal and try to get two at the crib,” Adebayo said. (Field Level Media / Reuters)