Game 1 Recap: Cavs vs Heat

The Cavaliers have boasted one of the best backcourt trios in the Association all season, and the combination of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Ty Jerome sealed the deal Sunday’s series opener – combining for 85 points as the Wine & Gold pulled away late to take Game 1, winning 121-100 over Miami at Rocket Arena. 

The Heat’s only lead of the night came midway through the first quarter, a brief two-point advantage. But Cleveland bounced back to take a seven-point edge at intermission and led by double-figures through most of the fourth quarter – outscoring Miami 23-10 to close the game. 

Mitchell led both teams with 30 points – his seventh straight Playoff series opener with at least 30 – going 11-for-19 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the stripe, adding five boards, four assists and game-high four steals. 

Garland was almost as good, following up with 27 points of his own on 10-for-17 shooting, including 5-of-9 from long-range, adding a team-high five assists and a steal in the victory

“We're a really good team when everybody's connecting on all cylinders and everybody’s touching the ball,” said Garland. “The ball is moving, (we’re) attacking closeouts, throwing the lob, spray-outs. That's Cavaliers basketball, and that's what we did tonight. We’ve got to keep doing that for the rest of the series and the rest of the postseason to be where we want to be.”

Jerome, making his career Playoff debut, scored 16 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter – going 6-of-7 from the floor, including 3-of-3 from deep in the period to help Cleveland pull away late. Overall, the 6th-year man from Virginia went 10-of-15 from the field, 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, adding five boards and three dimes in just 26 minutes of work. 

“This is who Ty is,” said Donovan Mitchell. “This is not a shock. I know everybody's going to react like this is a shock, but he's been doing this for us all year – and this is just an added bonus. Every time he steps on the floor, he's doing something positive.”

The only other Cavalier in double-figures was Jarett Allen, who notched his sixth career Playoff double-double, adding 12 points and a game high 11 rebounds – six off the offensive glass – to go with three steals and a blocked shot. 

“(Allen) was all over the place,” praised Coach Kenny Atkinson postgame. “When he offense rebounds, it seems like we play really well. His presence was great. Bam is so physical, such a good player. So, him and Evan had to battle with him and Ware all night. They play with two bigs too. So, Jarett's energy was phenomenal.”

*** Overall, Cleveland shot 51 percent from the floor, 42 percent from three-point range – drilling 18 triples – and 81 percent from the stripe. But maybe the most critical offensive number was the eight total turnovers committed – and the Cavaliers dynamic backcourt triumvirate combining for just four of them. 

On the defensive end, Bam Adebayo led the Heat – who shot 49 percent from the floor but attempted just a dozen free throws –with 24 points and nine boards. Tyler Herro followed up with 21 points, but was held to just four on 2-of-6 shooting after intermission. 

*** The Wine & Gold stay home for Game 2, set for Wednesday night at Rocket Arena. The Cavaliers travel to South Beach for Game 3 on Saturday afternoon and Game 4 on Monday night. If necessary, the series continues back in Cleveland the following Wednesday.