Mitchell’s 34 points sets the tone early as Cavaliers hold off multiple comeback attempts by the Heat.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have had their injury report extended further as earlier on Wednesday it was announced that Darius Garland was out. With so many names scratched out of the rotation it left one to wonder how the Cavaliers could plug the holes left behind.
Against a Miami Heat team that gave a healthy Cavaliers team trouble, one would assume that they could be in trouble. However, pregame worries were quickly simmered as the Cavaliers came out strong. Donovan Mitchell scored 12 of his 34 points in the first quarter and quickly put the Heat on their heels early on.
The three-point shot has been an issue for the Cavaliers over the past few games. Early on against the Heat this also appeared to be the case, however, the bench provided ample amounts of three-point volume.
Leading the charge off the bench was Ty Jerome, who appears to have found his rhythm once again scoring 20 points on 9-17 shooting. Georges Niang and Craig Porter Jr also provided quality minutes as reserves scoring 13 and 9 points respectively. It’s a very good sign that the Cavaliers, for as depleted as they were, were able to show infinitely more depth than Miami.
Both Cavalier bigs had consistent performances. Evan Mobley scored seven early first-quarter points before evening out his night with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Allen similarly had a very solid performance against the Heat as the Cavaliers were getting a bulk of their first-half points from around the basket. Allen finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Jaylon Tyson also got the starting nod as Kenny Atkinson chose not to shake up his bench rotation despite the injuries. By eyeballing the box score you would not think that Tyson had a great outing. However, Tyson certainly showed flashes on both ends of the floor. He was a high-energy spark plug giving life to the Cavaliers’ rediscovered defensive intensity and was key in fast breaks for pushing the pace and finding the open man. Tyson made an abundance of winning plays, and the tape speaks to that.
The Cavaliers never let the Heat have the lead from the opening tip and defended multiple runs Miami mustered. Wins like this only show the skill gap between the Cavaliers and the middling teams in the Eastern Conference.