Beaten by four points two days earlier by the Cavs, Miami took revenge, still at home, overcoming a rather tough Donovan Mitchell (42 points).
The latter quickly set the tone by scoring his first two 3-point baskets. The outside address of Evan Mobley and Lamar Stevens allowed Cleveland to resist the good start of the Herro-Oladipo-Butler trio (27-26).
Cleveland was quick to regain the upper hand with once again a Donovan Mitchell as the main threat. The back this time converted five 3-point attempts to falter Miami, contributing to an 8-2 to end the first half and put the Cavaliers at +9 at the break (50-59).
Author of 25 points at the break, Donovan Mitchell was far from having finished his festival. He was still a headache for the opposing defense, between his drives, his skill behind the arc and his brilliant assists, like when he made Isaac Okoro shine near the circle or Ricky Rubio from far to pass Cleveland at +14 (67-81).
At the foot of the wall, the locals managed to react in time, via the Strus-Butler pair, in order to preserve their chances 12 minutes from time (82-89). Morale rebounded, Erik Spoelstra’s troops quickly picked up on a 10-0 marked by two missiles signed Tyler Herro to move to +4 (95-91).
Faced with Donovan Mitchell, Miami was then able to oppose Jimmy Butler, author of three baskets and two throws to maintain a six-point gap as the buzzer approached. 3-pointers from Ricky Rubio and desperate attempts from Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley revived the suspense (113-112), but Miami held on until the end. Caleb Martin and Jimmy Butler made their shots, where Donovan Mitchell was forced to miss one to hope for an offensive rebound that never came. On arrival, it was therefore the Heat who took their revenge by winning 119-115.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Miami overturns the table. The click came at the right time for the locals when Cleveland had a 14-point lead in the score. After Max Strus then Tyler Herro to sound the revolt, the Floridians were able to count on a Jimmy Butler in “Buckets” mode to reverse the trend and seek a victory that may count at the end of the exercise.
– Perfume of revenge. The Heat obviously had in mind the setback conceded two days earlier and approach this rematch with the desire to redeem themselves. Despite the absence of Darius Garland, Cleveland did more than resist and it took a great team from Miami at the end to turn the tide. A success that allows Floridians to continue to look ahead.
– Jarrett Allen took his eyes off it. The Cavs pivot collapsed in the “money-time” following a rebound battle with Bam Adebayo. Eyes on the ball, Jarrett Allen didn’t see Bam Adebayo, also thrown to try and touch the ball, except he hit his opponent’s eye. The latter remained on the ground for long minutes before finally joining the locker room.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Jimmy Butler. A fairly complete match that he ended in a cannonball to keep his team in the lead. The Jimmy Butler at his best, complete, efficient but also hard in defense and who plays fair overall.
✅ ⛔Donovan Mitchell. Started on big bases with 25 points at the break, he delivered a rather very good third quarter before being less fair in his choices, like his team, paying for the tight defense of the Heat.
✅ The Strus-Herro duo. The tandem was heroic as the Heat drank the cup midway through the third quarter. The first slammed two 3-point missiles to restart the machine and the second did the same at the start of the fourth quarter. Two passages that put Miami back on the right track.
⛔ Evan Mobley. A little Evan Mobley tonight, a bit like during the last confrontation between the two teams. At 4/10 in shooting, he finished with 4 rebounds and above all a +/- at -18 which says a lot about the quality of his passages.
THE FOLLOWING
Miami (36-32) : “back-to-back” for the Heat, expected in Orlando tonight (01:00).
Cleveland (42-27) : the Cavaliers continue with a double-confrontation in Charlotte from this Sunday (10 p.m.).
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