Cleveland Cavaliers outclass undermanned Miami Heat team at home

Cleveland Cavaliers steadies ship with two straight wins

The Cleveland Cavaliers marched on to two consecutive victories after outclassing the undermanned Miami Heat squad at home, 113-87. After a string of tough losses, the Cavs took advantage of being back home and pocketed a pair of much-needed decisive wins.

Leading by a single point after the opening quarter, Cleveland ramped it up on both ends of the floor to break the game open by halftime. The end result was never in question from thereon, with the home squad dominating to lead by as much as 32 at one point in the second half.

Darius Garland led all scorers with 25 points to go with seven assists, while Cedi Osman came off the bench to add 20 off his own complemented with 12 huge boards.

As head coach J.B. Bickerstaff elected to limit the starters’ minutes in the first leg of a back-to-back, Isaac Okoro, who have been out of the regular rotation as of late, also received a significant run to tally 13 points while playing staunch defense on the other end.

Miami was thoroughly outclassed without stars Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro, but the Cavs were also hobbled. Still without occassional starter Dean Wade (knee), Cleveland also missed the services of Kevin Love (thumb) and lost a struggling Caris LeVert to an ankle injury in the loss.

The Cavs look to continue protecting home court

One major driving factor in the recent success was the much-improved defense, especially on the transition. Apart from the regular rotation players, Okoro and Lamar Stevens have provided a significant boost on that end of the floor.

Ahead of a pivotal matchup against a worthy adversary and fellow postseason challengers Atlanta Hawks, the starters were smartly given much fewer minutes in the blowout win, but still had a solid burn to keep the momentum alive.

Big man Jarrett Allen seemed out of it offensively and All-Star Donovan Mitchell had a bit of a rough shooting stretch against the Heat, but should look to shake it off within hours of their next assignment.

Improving to 10-6, the Cleveland Cavaliers will look to keep the streak alive in the first of their last two games at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse for this homestand, with a pivotal matchup with Atlanta Hawks on the schedule with less than a 24-hour turnaround.