The points are expected to fly on Monday night when the Miami Heat plays host to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Miami ranked second in the NBA in scoring with 124.1 points per game heading into Sunday’s play, while Cleveland was seventh at 120.7. The Cavaliers led the league in scoring last season.
Both teams have scored more than 100 points in every game this season, and Miami is undefeated at home (4-0).
Cleveland is just 3-2 on the road but has a four-game overall win streak. The Cavaliers have scored 132, 148 and 128 points over their past three games.
Miami has an overall two-game win streak, including a victory over Charlotte on Friday when the Heat set a franchise record with a 53-point first quarter.
The Heat did that without injured All-Stars Bam Adebayo (toe) and Tyler Herro (ankle), and neither is expected to play Monday.
But Miami is getting contributions from a deep roster. In the Heat’s 136-131 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, reserve Nikola Jovic scored a career-high 29 points while adding nine rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block. He made 10 of 16 shots, including 3 of 7 on 3-pointers.
Heat reserves Jaime Jaquez Jr. (14 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists) and Dru Smith (13 points, six assists) also did their part.
Once Herro and Adebayo return, they will likely be joined in the starting lineup by Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell.
Powell leads the team in scoring (23.3 points). Adebayo is the top rebounder (8.1) while Mitchell leads in assists (7.5).
“Our guys are getting pretty comfortable,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Miami’s high-octane offense. “I’m not putting the brakes on anyone who wants to attack (the rim).”
The Cavaliers are coming off a brilliant 64-win regular season. Guard Donovan Mitchell averaged 24.0 points and was named to the All-NBA first team for the first time in his career. Mitchell is also a six-time All-Star who is averaging 30.7 points so far this season.
In addition, center Evan Mobley is coming off a breakthrough season during which he became an All-Star for the first time and was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year.
However, the Cavaliers were upset in the second round of the 2025 playoffs by Indiana.
This season, the Cavaliers want to prove they can make a deep playoff run with the same core players that ended the 2024-2025 campaign. The only newcomers among Cleveland’s top 13 players in terms of minutes played are reserves Larry Nance Jr. and Lonzo Ball.
Former Heat guard Max Strus is also back, although he has yet to play this season due to a foot injury.
Nance (knee) also appears on Cleveland’s injury report and is listed as questionable. Starting guard Darius Garland (toe) was on the injury report, but was removed Sunday afternoon and will be good to play.
Following Mitchell, Cleveland’s most prolific players are Mobley (20.0 points, 8.5 rebounds) and DeAndre Hunter (18.4 points, 5.3 rebounds).
Still, Mitchell is the guy who makes Cleveland rock.
“He is playing out of his mind,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “There are only a handful of guys (in the world) who have his skill.”
–Field Level Media
