(AP) — Donovan Mitchell had 27 points and 13 rebounds, Darius Garland shook off early foul trouble to score 18 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat 111-99 on Friday night.
Georges Niang scored 13, and Max Strus added 11 in his first road game against his former team. The Cavaliers are now 7-3 on the road this season — tied with Oklahoma City and Minnesota for the best such mark in the NBA.
Kyle Lowry scored 17 points for the Heat, who have lost five of their last seven. Jimmy Butler scored 16, Caleb Martin added 15, former Cavaliers forward Kevin Love had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. also scored 12 for Miami.
The Cavaliers outrebounded Miami 51-37 — and held a 2-1 lead in 15-0 runs.
Miami scored 15 consecutive points early on the way to building a 16-point lead, and the Cavaliers had two 15-0 stretches later in the game. The first erased that Miami lead; the second put Cleveland up for good.
Mitchell had the last basket of the first half to give Cleveland a 53-52 lead at the break, and then the Cavs got the first 13 points of the third quarter — with Mitchell scoring 11. He had 13 points in a span of 2:09, starting just before the half, and the Cavs were in control.
Miami has lost four games this season after leading by at least 16 points. It was the biggest deficit Cleveland has successfully overcome this season.
Miami was again without Bam Adebayo (hip), Haywood Highsmith (back) and Tyler Herro (ankle). Adebayo has missed five of Miami’s last eight games, Herro has missed 14 straight games with a sprain, and Highwood has basically missed three consecutive games; he sat out Miami’s last two and the last 45 minutes of a Monday loss to Indiana.
Cleveland played without Evan Mobley, who was held out with left knee soreness. It was Mobley’s first game missed this season and only the fourth he’s missed in Cleveland’s last 111 games, including playoffs.
Garland was whistled for three fouls in the game’s first 5:21, and when he went to the bench, the Heat got rolling. The night’s first 15-0 run put Miami up 23-12, and the lead eventually reached 39-23 after the Heat scored 11 points in a span of 78 seconds.
Cleveland’s first 15-0 run immediately followed that stretch, and Mitchell’s basket in the final seconds of the first half put the Cavs on top to stay. Miami got within nine in the fourth, but no closer.
UP NEXT
Cavaliers: Visit Orlando on Monday.
Heat: Visit Charlotte on Monday.
