CLEVELAND — Before playing the game Tuesday night, many Cavaliers and Heat players were saying this would be like a playoff game; the Heat are in sixth place and the Cavs are fifth in the Eastern Conference.
Although the Cavs kept the score close, they just couldn't finish off the Heat.
Donovan Mitchell tried to keep the motion going for the Cavs by making assists to Evan Mobley throughout the night, setting him up for shots he knew he would make.
Mobley had three cut-in dunks, each being in the first three quarters.
Mitchell and Caris LeVert managed to make two buzzer threes at the end of the first and third.
Darius Garland was able to score back-to-back layups a few times and three pointers, one play being in the beginning of the third quarter where he was able to bring the lead up for the Cavs.
Down to the last stretch, the Cavs were on a faster pace but the Heat matched their energy.
Around the 7-minute mark, Cavs had a two-point lead. Miami point guard Tyler Herro made a jump-shot, followed by a three-pointer seconds apart from each other. He ended up getting fouled, which brought him to the free throw line where then the Heat regained the lead. From there, the Heat played strong.
The Cavs didn’t tie the game up until Issac Okoro’s three-pointer at the 3-minute mark. The Cavs just needed to make smart decisions to end it, but with missed shots, a turnover and bad passes in between they couldn't—once again—close a fourth quarter.
The Cavaliers ended up losing to the Heat, 100-97.
Mobley ended with 19 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Mitchell had 16 points, nine assists, four steals and three rebounds.
The leading scorer for Miami was Jimmy Bulter with 23 points, five assists and three steals.
Herro, Bam Adebayo, and Caleb Martin combined for 54 points. Martin and Adebayo went double-double, Martin with 18 points and ten rebounds and Adebayo with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The Cavs will be back at RocketMortage Fieldhouse to host the Memphis Grizzlies Thursday. Tip-off will be at 7:30pm.
Watch live and local news any time:
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
