It wasn’t pretty, but it was enough to get a win.
The Cleveland Cavaliers tried a different strategy on Wednesday. Instead of getting down by 15+ points and rallying back, as they have the last three games, they decided to get up by 17 in the second quarter before coughing up the lead to the Miami Heat entirely in the second half.
The Cavs did enough to win 112-107, their 12th straight victory. It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win.
The offense came out firing at the start of the game. They scored 36 points in the first quarter while going 5-10 from three. The offense dramatically cooled off from there. They tallied just 27 and 23 points in the second and third quarters to allow Miami to get back into the game.
Cleveland entered the fourth with a slim four-point advantage but gave that up quickly. They fell down by as many as seven midway through the frame before fighting back.
Max Strus helped spur on that comeback. He nailed a few clutch threes down the stretch, along with forcing a turnover while up three with 30 seconds left.
The Cavaliers didn’t make the most of the opportunity. Darius Garland turned it over just a few seconds after crossing half-court, immediately after the steal.
Strus was there again on the defensive end to pick up the slack. He forced Duncan Robinson out of bounds on a three-point shot attempt that would’ve tied the game. Garland closed the door at the line.
Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs in scoring with 26 points on 8-17 shooting while picking up five assists and five turnovers. He was the only player with 20 or more points.
De’Andre Hunter added 16 points on 6-12 shooting. Evan Mobley provided 16 points and 13 rebounds. Garland finished with 15 points and 10 assists. Max Strus had 11 points on 4-8 shooting.
Jarrett Allen struggled in this one. He had only four points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes. This led to Kenny Atkinson deciding to close without him on the court.
The Cavs couldn’t stop Bam Adebayo. He led both teams with a game-high 34 points to go along with 12 rebounds and five assists.
Kevin Love made his first return to Cleveland since being bought out two years ago. He received a video tribute and contributed 10 points and six rebounds.
The win allowed the Cavs to be the first team in the league to clinch a playoff spot. Their 52nd win is already four more than they had last season. Only seven teams in franchise history have more wins than the Cavs currently have. They also have 20 more games to play.
This wasn’t a great showing. The Heat were without their lone All-Star, Tyler Herro, and several key contributors including Andrew Wiggins, Jamie Jaquez, and Nikola Jovic, This was a game that, on paper, the Cavs should’ve won by more. That said, this result is pretty understandable.
March will be a tough month. They have 16 games in 29 days with none being in the same city on consecutive nights. This includes this game, which was the second night of a back-to-back. It’s incredibly difficult to consistently keep up their high level of play over a tough stretch like this.
Style points don’t matter in the standings. The important thing is that they got the win. Even if it wasn’t pretty.