GAME RECAP: Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
- Isabella Arjomand
- Apr 1, 2018
- 2 min read
Last Tuesday, things started heating up in South Beach but not for the Cavaliers.
MIAMI-- The Cavaliers entered the painfully familiar American Airlines Arena for the 14th consecutive time on Tuesday. Not having beaten the Miami Heat in their home since 2010, the Cavaliers would walk out of the arena empty handed, once again.
Before this game, the Cavs had a 5-game winning streak and had not scored below 120 points during each game. The Heat ended their streak and took the win 98-79. This is the Cavs lowest scoring game this season, shooting only 37 percent from the floor and 15 percent from beyond the arc.
Heat's, Kelly Olynyk scored a game-high 19 points, beating LeBron James who led the Cavs with 18 points.
Miami's defense brought the heat and made it very difficult for the Cavalier's offense to put down shots. Former Cavalier, Dwayne Wade, blocked multiple shots by LeBron James. Wade finished the game with four blocks.
"We did a great job," Wade said. "One of our best defensive games since I've been here, for sure."
The Cavs suffered a loss when Kevin Love got injured 1:22 into the game after taking an elbow from Heat center Jordan Mickey. He will be evaluated again Wednesday to see if he needs to enter the NBA's concussion protocol.
Starting from the first quarter, the Heat came out strong with a double digit lead over the Cavaliers. It wouldn't be until the fourth quarter that the Cavaliers would cut the Heat's 23-point lead to 11.
LeBron had a game-high 7 assists, but he also committed 6 turnovers and two of his shots rejected by Wade. The two previous teammates were still able to be friends after the game and shared a few moments of laughter.
Jose Calderon was the only other starter in double-figures – and the only starter to hit a three-pointer – finishing with 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting to go with a pair of assists and a steal for the Cavaliers.
Rodney Hood had an impressive performance Tuesday night with his third straight showing off the bench, scoring 15 points for the Cavs.
Jordan Clarkson pushed the Cavaliers to close the gap between them in the heat during the fourth quarter. He scored 6 of his 11 points during the quarter; this was his 16th double-figure scoring performance as a Cavalier.
Turning Point
Although the Cavs were not able to pull the win, there was a brief moment of hope with 7:06 remaining.
Jordan Clarkson's layup was the start of an 8-1 run that would slice Miami's lead in half- 80-69.
But after a timeout, the Heat came out strong and responded immediately with shots from Wade and Olynyk.
Quote from Coach Larry Drew
”We missed shots early and we allowed their pressure to take us out of some stuff we wanted to do. When we got down, it just became too big of a deficit.”
For more information on the Cavs and official team statistics,
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