Darius Garland scored 25 points, Cedi Osman came off the bench to add 20 and the host Cleveland Cavaliers rolled past the Miami Heat 113-87 on Sunday.
The Cavaliers took control with dominant middle quarters, outscoring the Heat 31-15 in the second and 36-22 in the third. The Cleveland lead swelled to as many as 32 points in the early fourth quarter.
Cleveland held Miami to just 6-of-21 shooting in the second period and 6-of-18 in the third. For the night, the Heat went just 31 of 80 from the floor.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, shot 44-for-83 for the game, including 10 of 19 in the second quarter and 15 of 23 in the third.
Cleveland’s offense clicked both attacking the interior, and on the strength of balanced scoring. Six Cavaliers scored at least 11 points with Lamar Stevens posting 11 and Evan Mobley recording a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Isaac Okoro joined Osman in producing off the bench, finishing with 13 points. The duo led Cleveland to a 41-25 advantage in points off the bench.
Cleveland’s balanced attack compensated for an off-night shooting from Donovan Mitchell, whose 13 points were 18 less than his average coming into Sunday’s contest.
Osman’s game-high 12 rebounds also powered Cleveland to a 49-30 advantage on the glass.
Bam Adebayo returned to the Miami lineup for team highs of 21 points and six rebounds. Caleb Martin scored 17 points and reserve Dewayne Dedmon added 10 points in the loss.
The Heat’s offensive woes extended beyond the 3-point arc, where they shot 6 of 31. Kyle Lowry went just 1-for-7 from deep and 2-for-10 from the floor overall en route to nine points.
The loss marked the third straight for Miami on the first three contests of a four-game road swing. Cleveland, meanwhile, won its second straight as part of a four-game homestand.
The Cavaliers came into the homestand on a five-game losing streak, snapped with their win over Charlotte in double overtime on Friday.
–Field Level Media