Critical Runs Propel Cavaliers To Resilient Win Over Heat
The Cleveland Cavaliers found themselves in some early trouble on Friday night against the Miami Heat.
One game after scoring 37 points in the first quarter, the Wine and Gold scored a season-low 17 first-quarter points.
Darius Garland committed his fourth foul of the game just 20 seconds into the second quarter. Then, nearly three minutes later, the Heat took their largest lead of the game at 39-23 with 8:58 remaining in the first half.
However, instead of letting the momentum get to them, the Cavaliers used this deficit as motivation.
Over the next 4:01, Cleveland went on a 15-0 run, cutting Miami’s lead to just one with 4:57 left in the first half. During this span, the Wine and Gold got scoring contributions from five different players including four points apiece from Craig Porter Jr. and Tristan Thompson off the bench.
The Cavaliers eventually went into halftime with a 53-52 lead.
Cleveland then got off to a red-hot start in the third quarter, going on another game-changing run. The Wine and Gold scored the first 13 points of the period, and did not trail for the remainder of the contest.
Donovan Mitchell scored 11 of these 13 points in this span, as he finished with 27 points, a career-high 13 rebounds, and six assists. Each of these marks were game-highs, with Garland also tallying six assists.
Dec 8, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) shoots over Miami Heat guard Kyle Lowry (7) during the second half at Kaseya Center.
© Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
The Wine and Gold eventually jumped out to their largest lead of the night in the final quarter, going up 93-75 with 11:02 remaining.
Georges Niang scored Cleveland’s first 10 points of the period off the bench. He had 13 points on the night, all of which came in the second half.
While the Heat cut the Cavaliers’ lead to just nine with 3:29 left, Cleveland held on for a hard-earned 111-99 victory.
