Donovan Mitchell scored 17 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and Darius Garland contributed 21 points and nine assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers held on for a 121-112 win over the visiting Miami Heat on Wednesday in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Cleveland holds a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven set heading to Game 3 on Saturday in Miami.
After Miami, which trailed by as many as 19 points, pulled within 105-103 on a Tyler Herro jumper with 3:11 remaining. Donovan Mitchell answered with a midrange basket and drained a 32-footer off a Jarrett Allen steal to give top-seeded Cleveland some breathing room at 110-103.
“In the fourth quarter when it’s a two-point game, I had to find a way,” Donovan Mitchell said. “I just tried to put pressure on the defense. That’s my job. Those are the moments.”
Miami’s Davion Mitchell said, “He’s a superstar for a reason. It’s kind of like there is nothing you can do in the NBA sometimes when someone is hitting tough shots like that.”
Miami got the deficit down to five by scoring on its next two possessions, but the Heat missed their next two shots before Evan Mobley sank two free throws with 25.7 seconds left to put Cleveland up 115-108.
“I love the fact that the game happened like this,” Donovan Mitchell said. “I’d rather win like this than by 20 like we did the other day. … The biggest thing is we responded when we needed to and closed out the game.”
Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson added, “When they cut it to two, you could feel the game slipping a little bit, but we kept our composure. Obviously, it helps when you’ve got Donovan Mitchell. That was one of those ‘superstar takes over games’ (moments).”
Cleveland made 11 3-pointers in the second quarter, a team playoff record for any period. Former Miami forward Max Strus made three of them, and Mitchell, Sam Merrill and De’Andre Hunter had two apiece. Mitchell finished 7 of 10 from beyond the arc.
“There were four of them that we defended really well, but once it got to seven or eight, I think we got discouraged a little bit,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Herro collected 33 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Heat, who lost the first two games in a postseason series for the first time since the 2021 first round against the Milwaukee Bucks. Bam Adebayo had 11 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, and Haywood Highsmith scored 17 points and made 5 of 6 3-point attempts.
Cavaliers All-Star Evan Mobley had 20 points and six rebounds, and Hunter added 12 points after going scoreless in the opener. Cleveland made 22 3-pointers, three shy of the league record.
Strus had 12 points and Mobley and Donovan Mitchell each scored 10 in the first half as Cleveland built a 68-51 lead, despite Herro’s 17 points for the Heat. The Cavaliers held 19-point advantages in the second and third quarters.
Davion Mitchell replaced Alec Burks as Miami’s starting shooting guard and amassed 18 points and six assists.
“We’ll get home, get a good cooked meal and try to get two at the crib,” Adebayo said.
–Field Level Media
