MIAMI — Darius who?
The top-seeded — and short-handed — Cavs moved one game closer to a first-round sweep by overwhelming the Miami Heat, 124-87, on Saturday afternoon inside Miami’s Kaseya Center. Cleveland has won the first three games of this lopsided series. Teams are 157-0 all-time when leading 3-0 in any playoff series.
“The sooner you can end a series, the better,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “But listen, this is the Miami Heat, right? Because of who they are, because of their character and their program and their coaching and the players they have, Game 4 is going to be a tight battle.”
Saturday was — for about half a quarter.
Early on, the scant crowd was engaged. The white shirts were out — a longtime Miami playoff tradition. The Heat looked motivated, fully aware of what history says about losing the first three games of a series.
It was an ideal start for the home team, the kind that Atkinson warned his team about at practice one day earlier and then again in his pregame address.
Miami held the Cavaliers, playing without All-Star point guard Darius Garland, to just four points on 2 of 10 shooting over the first five minutes. It was a 15-6 Heat edge at the 6:46 mark of the opening quarter.
That’s when the forecast changed. South Florida suddenly called for a Cavalanche.
Led by second unit mainstays Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter, Cleveland buried Miami beneath an 18-0 surge that sucked the life out of the building and made it sound more like an early-January regular season game.
“Just come in and bring some life of the game,” Jerome said of his mentality. “We were a little sluggish. I think only J.A. had scored in the first five or six minutes. Every game I try to bring energy and read the flow of the game.”
The Cavs outscored the helpless Heat 27-5 over the final 6:46 of the first quarter — and carried that into the second quarter, as the lead increased to 20.
By the end of the first half, the trailing Heat exited the court to a chorus of boos. It was the loudest clamor since the first few minutes — or when they showed Grammy-winning artist Shakira on the in-arena video board.
Cleveland eventually built a 40-point advantage, sending fans scrambling for the exits around the midway point of the fourth quarter while Garland, clad in street clothes because of a sprained big toe on his left foot, greeted each teammate with a smile and handshake.
For the Cavs, it’s not about one player. Or two. Or three. It’s about the collective — a deep, talented and skilled team that has proven too much for battle-tested and prideful Miami.
“This is nothing new,” Evan Mobley said. “Guys have been out and this is the next-man-up mentality. I feel like guys stepped up and we delivered tonight.”
Center Jarrett Allen led a balanced attack with six players in double figures. Allen scored a postseason career-high 22 points on 8 of 9 from the field in 26 dominant minutes.
Hunter added 21 off the bench. With him on the floor, the Cavs were plus-34.
“Don came up to me and told me to be aggressive, especially with DG out,” Hunter said. “That’s what I tried to do. I think it just shows how deep our team is.”
Mobley chipped in with 19 while Max Strus, a graduate of Heat Culture who has provided institutional knowledge throughout the series, finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Jerome and Donovan Mitchell had 13 points apiece.
The Heat got 22 points from Bam Adebayo. Davion Mitchell contributed 16.
“This is a team that’s never going to go away,” Mitchell said of the Heat. “They’re always going to compete, they’re always going to play hard, play aggressive, so respect to them. This is a really talented group, a really talented organization, a really talented head coach, and they were going to be ready. But the biggest thing is the group effort.”
Following Game 2 Wednesday night, a war of words started between these two conference foes. Garland fired the first shot, saying the Cavs’ plan was to pick on defensive weak link Herro. Then Herro responded, calling out his All-Star counterpart.
If history is any indication, Cleveland will get the last word. Possibly in a few days.
Up next
The Cavs will look to wrap up the series on Monday night in Miami. Tipoff is still to be determined.
