Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, Evan Mobley added 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers closed on a 12-2 run to beat the visiting Miami Heat 112-107 on Wednesday for their 12 straight victory.
De’Andre Hunter also had 16 points for the NBA-best Cavaliers, who became the first team to clinch a playoff berth. Darius Garland had 15 points and 10 assists, Ty Jerome scored 12 points, and Max Strus had 11.
Playing its third game in four nights, Cleveland improved to 52-10 after leading by as many as 17 in the second quarter. Miami pulled within four points at the half.
After Cleveland used a 10-2 run to move ahead 110-107 with 1:20 left, Duncan Robinson’s apparent game-tying 3-pointer with 17.1 seconds left was disallowed after officials ruled his foot was out of bounds. Garland made two free throws for the final margin.
Bam Adebayo put up a season-high 34 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for Miami. Robinson scored 14 points, Haywood Highsmith added 13, Terry Rozier had 12 and Kevin Love chipped in 10 against his former team.
The Heat played without Tyler Herro (illness), Kel’el Ware (knee), Andrew Wiggins (ankle), and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (ankle).
Cleveland led 36-32 at the end of one period and held a commanding 60-43 lead with 3:19 left in the second quarter.
Miami closed on a 16-3 run to cut the deficit to 63-59 at halftime. Adebayo had six points during the run and 16 for the half.
Love’s free throw with 6:58 left in the third quarter put the Heat ahead 72-71 for their first lead since the first period.
The Cavaliers ended the third period with an 86-82 lead before Miami opened the final quarter on a 16-5 run to move ahead 98-91.
Jarrett Allen finished with eight rebounds for Cleveland, which won the season series against Miami 2-1.
–Field Level Media
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