Playing without Darius Garland did not slow down the Eastern Conference’s No. 1-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, as they combined balanced offense and stifling defense to overpower the host Miami Heat in Saturday’s Game 3 matchup, 124-87.
Shortly before Cleveland (3-0) tipped off, Garland was announced as a scratch from the lineup due to a toe injury aggravated late in the Game 2 win on Wednesday. The Cavaliers also endured offensive struggles from star Donovan Mitchell, who followed up his two 30-point games to open the series shooting just 4-of-14 from the floor en route to 13 points.
But with others stepping up, including De’Andre Hunter coming off the bench to score 16 of his 21 points in the first half, Cleveland moved within one win of advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Cavaliers withstood an initial charge from the Heat (0-3). Miami jumped out to a quick 15-6 lead less than six minutes into the first quarter, but Cleveland responded with an 18-0 onslaught that gave the Cavaliers the lead for good.
The Heat opened the second half with a brief threat, cutting a 20-point lead at intermission to 15 when Davion Mitchell followed up a layup with an assist to set up Kel’el Ware 3-pointer. Any hope of a Miami comeback was quickly squashed, however.
Cleveland answered with a 13-5 run and rolled from there.
Jarrett Allen led the Cavaliers with 22 points and nine rebounds. He was tops among six Cleveland scorers in double figures, along with frontcourt mate Evan Mobley, who netted 19 points.
Mobley, named Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday, also added a blocked shot and a steal.
Max Strus shot 4-of-9 from 3-point range on the way to 18 points, and Ty Jerome posted a double-double off the bench, logging some of Garland’s missing point-guard minutes, at 13 points and 11 assists.
Bam Adebayo matched Allen’s 22 points and nine rebounds, while Davion Mitchell added 16 points. No other Miami scorer posted more than Tyler Herro’s 13 points.
–Field Level Media
