Miami Heat @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH | Game ID: 22300996
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 30 27 18 29 104MIA 31 30 22 24 107
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Terry Rozier's go-ahead 3-pointer with 14.5 seconds left helps the Heat beat the Cavaliers 107-104
CLEVELAND -- — Terry Rozier scored nine points in the final 1:24, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 14.5 seconds on the clock, lifting the Miami Heat to a 107-104 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
Rozier converted a 4-point play before sinking a 26 footer that gave Miami a 105-102 lead. After Georges Niang made a layup for the Cavaliers, Rozier followed with two free throws with 2.8 seconds remaining.
Darius Garland had a chance to force overtime, but his off-balance, 3-point attempt was off the mark and Cleveland lost its third straight home game.
“This is why we went after Terry," in a trade with Charlotte on Jan. 23 Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We wanted to have another guy who can make something happen late in games. He’s always been that kind of player in big moments with Charlotte and of course with Boston."
Jimmy Butler scored 30 points and Youngstown, Ohio native Rozier finished with 24, helping Miami pull within one-half game of Philadelphia for the sixth and final automatic playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Nikola Jovic added 14 points.
“Terry put on a show, man, with half the arena there to see him tonight,” Butler said. “Basketball is supposed to be fun and him doing it somewhat at his crib, in front of his people, was something.”
Jarrett Allen had 25 points and 20 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who remained third in the East. Garland scored 20 points, Caris LeVert added 16 points and 12 assists, and Niang had 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland was without three starters in All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell (nasal fracture), power forward Evan Mobley (left ankle sprain) and small forward Max Strus (right knee strain). Mitchell will have his status updated next week.
“All are closer, but I can’t give you any projected timetable,” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.
All-Star center Bam Adebayo (lower back contusion) and shooting guard Duncan Robinson (back discomfort) were unavailable for Miami. Both saw action Monday in a 98-91 loss at Philadelphia .
“Coach told me it was time to take a game off,” Adebayo said. “It was more maintenance than anything else.”
Rozier shot just 27.9% on 3-pointers over his first 21 games with the Heat, but made 5 of 6 in his Ohio homecoming.
“My teammates and my coaches kept reminding me who I am,” Rozier said. “They told me just to keep shooting. Knowing my guys believed in me meant a lot.”
The Heat built a 54-43 lead in the second quarter — aided by three Cleveland technical fouls in a 4 1/2-minute span — before going into halftime up 61-57. Butler had 20 points for Miami, while Allen paced the Cavaliers with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
MIA KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECL C. LeVert
CP C. Porter Jr.
DG D. Garland
GN G. Niang
IO I. Okoro
JA J. Allen
MM M. Morris Sr.
SM S. Merrill
TT T. Thompson
MIABU Butler
CM C. Martin
DW D. Wright
HH H. Highsmith
JB J. Butler III
JJ J. Jaquez Jr.
JO Jovic
NJ N. Jović
OR O. Robinson
PM P. Mills
TB T. Bryant
TR T. Rozier
CLE/MIA the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur