Heat snap five-game skid by showing late grit in 120-103 victory in Cleveland
CLEVELAND – Considering the torment of the five-game losing streak the Miami Heat carried into the night – from the buzzer-beating loss in Houston, the Luka Doncic 60 for the Lakers to the fourth-quarter blitz by the Hornets – there likely was going to be no easy way out for Erik Spoelstra’s team. So what had stood as a 21-point first-half lead Wednesday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers was gone in the second half. Still, this time the Heat found a way, pushing back in the fourth quarter to a 120-103 victory at Rocket Area.
So one step forward in the win column and two in the standings, the victory moving the Heat to No. 8 in the Eastern Conference amid the scramble in the play-in/playoff race. With Spoelstra shaking up his starting lineup, the Heat found salvation through 19 points from Norman Powell and 18 from Tyler Herro , as well as 17 points and 10 rebounds from Bam Adebayo and 13 points and 11 rebounds from Kel’el Ware.
In all, eight players scored in double figures for the Heat. Five Degrees of Heat from Wednesday night’s game: 1. Game flow: The Heat led 28-19 after the first period and 63-46 at halftime, after moving to their 21-point lead in the second period.
The Heat season-long third-period issues then fully resurfaced, with the Cavaliers, playing on the second night of the back-to-back set against a Heat team that was idle Tuesday, tying it 83-83 going into the fourth. The Cavaliers then moved to a two-point lead early in the final period before the Heat pushed their way back to a nine-point advantage midway through the fourth. The Heat nursed the lead from there, as Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell fouled out with 3:39 left in the game, after scoring 28.
2. Side by side: Playing apart for most of the season due to injury absences, and then more recently by Spoelstra’s choosing, Powell and Herro were reunited in the starting lineup, with positive early results. Powell was up to 13 points at halftime, with Herro with 11 at that stage, each with three first-half 3-pointers.