Cavaliers Cavaliers outlast Miami Heat for three straight wins

Cleveland Cavaliers secures third consecutive W

The Cleveland Cavaliers successfully held off the Miami Heat on the first night of a back-to-back series on the road to win, 104-100. With their third-straight win this month, the young Cavs team move up to 42-26 in the standings.

With both teams being lauded for being among the top defensive teams in the league, the game was expected to go down the wire as another grind-it-out affair. Going into the second half with a slim lead after a tight first two quarters, Cleveland threatened to pull away, building a 12-point advantage that Miami was almost immediately able to cut back on.

As the Heat remained within striking distance throughout and came to within a possession in the clutch, the Cavaliers did just enough on the defensive end to seal the win.

Darius Garland led the Cavs with 25 points, seven assists, and two steals to lead all five starters tallying double-figures in scoring. However, it might be Evan Mobley who was the MVP of the game with a 15-point, six-rebound, six-assist, and two blocks stat line barely reflecting his impact on both ends.

On the other end, Heat stars Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, and Bam Adebayo combined for 67 points, more than two-thirds of their final tally in the losing effort.

The Cavs could be peaking at the right time

Donovan Mitchell continued to make history in his first season wearing a wine and gold uniform, breaking former Cavs gunner J.R. Smith’s franchise record for the most three-pointers made in a single season even as he only nailed one of his seven attempts from deep to finish with 18 markers.

Following an inspiring OT win against the defending conference champs Boston Celtics, building momentum leading into the final few weeks of the regular season and looking to avoid a late-season collapse similar to that of last year where they barely missed out on a postseason berth after crashing out after two play-in tournament losses.

Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s group continues to solidify their hold of solo fourth place in the Eastern Conference, extending their cushion to 2.5 games ahead of the surging New York Knicks, who have lost their last game following nine-straight wins.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will have a day off but will remain in South Beach for the second leg of the back-to-back against former Cavs star Kevin Love and the Miami Heat on March 10.