Game ID: 22400667
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Miami Heat
Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at 7:30 PM ET
Kaseya Center, Miami, FL
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
MIA 21 20 43 22 106CLE 31 28 35 32 126
CLE @ MIA ScoutingCLE @ MIA Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
MIA availability going into 1/21 · 1 day's restOUT Richardson missed 28 since 11/24, out tonight
OUT Burks missed 2 since 1/17, returns tonight: 13 min (76% of 18)
OUT Love missed 3 since 1/15, out tonight
BACK Butler III back 1/17 after 7, 30 min since (100% of 31)
BACK Larsson back 1/17 after 2, 2 min since (17% of 14)
NEW Jaquez Jr. 20 to 26 min over the last 5
MIA availability going into 1/23 · 1 day's restOUT Richardson missed 29 since 11/24, out tonight
OUT Love missed 4 since 1/15, out tonight
BACK Butler III back 1/17 after 7, 29 min since (96% of 31)
BACK Burks back 1/21 after 2, 13 min since (76% of 18)
BACK Larsson back 1/17 after 2, 7 min since (46% of 14)
NEW Jović 25 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Ware 22 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW Jaquez Jr. 20 to 26 min over the last 5
MIA availability going into 1/25 · 1 day's restOUT Richardson missed 30 since 11/24, out tonight
OUT Love missed 5 since 1/15, out tonight
BACK Butler III back 1/17 after 7, 29 min since (96% of 31)
BACK Burks back 1/21 after 2, 13 min since (76% of 18)
BACK Larsson back 1/17 after 2, 8 min since (59% of 14)
NEW Ware 22 to 28 min over the last 5
MIA availability going into 1/27 · 1 day's restOUT Butler III missed 2 since 1/23, not on tonight's roster
OUT Richardson missed 31 since 11/24, out tonight
OUT Burks missed 2 since 1/23, out tonight
OUT Love missed 6 since 1/15, returns tonight: 2 min (17% of 11)
BACK Larsson back 1/17 after 2, 8 min since (54% of 14)
NEW Robinson 24 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Ware 22 to 29 min over the last 5
MIA availability going into 1/29 · 1 day's restOUT Richardson missed 32 since 11/24, out tonight
OUT Burks missed 3 since 1/23, out tonight
BACK Love back 1/27 after 6, 2 min since (17% of 11)
NEW Jović 25 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Robinson 24 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Ware 22 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Jaquez Jr. 20 to 25 min over the last 4
MIA availability going into 2/01 · 2 days' restOUT Richardson missed 33 since 11/24, out tonight
OUT Burks missed 4 since 1/23, out tonight
BACK Love back 1/27 after 6, 2 min since (17% of 11)
NEW Jović 25 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Robinson 24 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Ware 22 to 34 min over the last 5
MIA availability going into 2/04 · 2 days' restOUT Richardson missed 34 since 11/24, out tonight
OUT Burks missed 5 since 1/23, returns tonight: 18 min (104% of 18)
OUT Love missed 2 since 1/29, out tonight
NEW Jović 25 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Robinson 24 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Ware 22 to 33 min over the last 5
MIA availability going into 2/05 · back-to-backOUT Richardson missed 35 since 11/24, out tonight
OUT Love missed 3 since 1/29, returns tonight: 7 min (64% of 11)
BACK Burks back 2/04 after 5, 18 min since (104% of 18)
NEW Jović 25 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Robinson 24 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Ware 22 to 32 min over the last 5
MIA availability going into 2/07 · 1 day's restOUT Richardson missed 36 since 11/24, not on tonight's roster
BACK Burks back 2/04 after 5, 18 min since (104% of 18)
BACK Love back 1/27 after 6, 4 min since (41% of 11)
NEW Jović 25 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Ware 22 to 31 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/22 · 1 day's restOUT Mobley missed 2 since 1/18, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 2 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Jerome back 1/16 after 2, 19 min since (97% of 20)
CLE availability going into 1/24 · 1 day's restOUT Mobley missed 3 since 1/18, out tonight
OUT LeVert missed 2 since 1/20, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 3 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Jerome back 1/16 after 2, 21 min since (103% of 20)
CLE availability going into 1/25 · back-to-backOUT Mobley missed 4 since 1/18, returns tonight: 29 min (94% of 31)
OUT LeVert missed 3 since 1/20, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 4 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Jerome back 1/16 after 2, 23 min since (116% of 20)
CLE availability going into 1/27 · 1 day's restOUT LeVert missed 4 since 1/20, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 5 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Mobley back 1/25 after 4, 29 min since (94% of 31)
CLE availability going into 1/29 · 1 day's restOUT LeVert missed 5 since 1/20, out tonight
OUT Wade missed 2 since 1/25, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 6 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Mobley back 1/25 after 4, 28 min since (93% of 31)
CLE availability going into 1/30 · back-to-backOUT LeVert missed 6 since 1/20, out tonight
OUT Wade missed 3 since 1/25, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 7 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Mobley back 1/25 after 4, 29 min since (96% of 31)
NEW Jerome 20 to 26 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 2/02 · 2 days' restOUT LeVert missed 7 since 1/20, returns tonight: 23 min (98% of 24)
OUT Wade missed 4 since 1/25, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 8 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Mobley back 1/25 after 4, 29 min since (94% of 31)
NEW Jerome 20 to 26 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 2/04 · 1 day's restOUT Wade missed 5 since 1/25, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 9 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Mobley back 1/25 after 4, 28 min since (91% of 31)
BACK LeVert back 2/02 after 7, 23 min since (98% of 24)
CLE availability going into 2/05 · back-to-backOUT Wade missed 6 since 1/25, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 10 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK LeVert back 2/02 after 7, 20 min since (84% of 24)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 113, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 18 free throws a game; Herro at 24 and Ware at 19 a game. Without Richardson (32 straight), Burks (3 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 112, shooting 46 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mitchell at 29 and Garland at 26 a game. Without LeVert (5 straight), Wade (2 straight), Okoro (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Cleveland 115, Miami 113, Miami keeping it close.
1/21 vs POR 107-116 — MIA notes
MIA lost 107-116. MIA shot 44% (41 of 93) to POR's 49%, 14 of 42 from three, and got to the line 12 times to POR's 23. Robinson led with 22 (8 of 15, 6 of 12 from three); Ware added 20, Butler III 13. Q4 was theirs, 30-19, the deficit cut from 20 to 9, but the other 3 periods went 97-77 against them. They led by as many as 10. Adebayo's -22 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/23 @ MIL 96-125 — MIA notes
MIA lost 96-125. MIA shot 37% (34 of 92) to MIL's 47%, 12 of 51 from three. Ware led with 22 (9 of 15, 2 of 7 from three); Herro added 21, Robinson 12. Q1 was theirs, 30-27, but the other 3 periods went 98-66 against them. They led by as many as 15. Jović's -26 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/25 @ BKN 106-97 — MIA notes
MIA won 106-97. MIA shot 44% (35 of 79) to BKN's 38%, 13 of 28 from three. MIA turned it over 22 times to BKN's 14, and BKN turned those into 11 steals. The glass went 51-35 for them. Herro led with 25 (8 of 14, 3 of 6 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Adebayo added 17, Jović 17. The hinge was Q3, 29-19: a lead of 4 became 14, and the lead reached 18. Adebayo was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
1/27 vs ORL 125-119 — MIA notes
MIA won 125-119 in 2 overtimes. MIA shot 52% (48 of 92) to ORL's 46%, 15 of 41 from three. Herro led with 30 (12 of 28, 4 of 15 from three); Adebayo added 26, Ware 19. The hinge was Q4, 29-20: MIA came in trailing by 9 and left it level. MIA trailed 55-59 at the half and won the second half 70-60.
1/29 vs CLE 106-126 — MIA notes
MIA lost 106-126. MIA shot 47% (39 of 83) to CLE's 54%, 15 of 43 from three, and went to the line 15 times to CLE's 6 — 13 points from the stripe to their 5. MIA turned it over 12 times to CLE's 7, and CLE turned those into 10 steals. The glass went 35-47 against them. Herro led with 22 (9 of 20, 4 of 10 from three); Rozier added 22, Adebayo 21. Q3 was theirs, 43-35, the deficit cut from 18 to 10, but the other 3 periods went 91-63 against them. Herro's -21 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/01 @ SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 124, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 19 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 25 and Barnes at 17 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. Miami comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 117, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 19 free throws a game; Herro at 24 and Adebayo at 17 a game. Without Richardson (33 straight), Burks (4 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: San Antonio wins, and the game turns on the arc, San Antonio at 41 percent from three to Miami's 34 and the defense, Miami allowing 117 a night to San Antonio's 124. Call it San Antonio 116, Miami 113, Miami keeping it close.
2/04 @ CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 117, shooting 46 percent and 38 from three, 15 free throws a game; White at 21 and Vučević at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. Miami comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 114, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 20 free throws a game; Herro at 22 and Adebayo at 21 a game. Without Richardson (34 straight), Burks (5 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Chicago wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Chicago has been plus-6 a night and Miami minus-0 and the arc, Chicago at 38 percent from three to Miami's 33. Call it Chicago 115, Miami 112, Miami keeping it close.
2/05 @ PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 116, shooting 51 percent and 42 from three, 22 free throws a game; Maxey at 36 and Yabusele at 18 a game. Without George (5 straight), Gordon (2 straight), Drummond (7 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Miami comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 116, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Adebayo at 23 and Herro at 22 a game. Without Richardson (35 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Philadelphia wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Miami giving it away 15 times a game to Philadelphia's 10 and the arc, Philadelphia at 42 percent from three to Miami's 37. Call it Philadelphia 115, Miami 112, Miami keeping it close.
2/07 @ BKN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Brooklyn comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 101, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 22 free throws a game; K. Johnson at 18 and Evbuomwan at 13 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Thomas (17 straight), Clowney (4 straight). One day's rest. Miami comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 116, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 20 free throws a game; Adebayo at 24 and Herro at 23 a game. Without Richardson (36 straight). One day's rest.
So: Brooklyn wins, and the game turns on the defense, Brooklyn allowing 101 a night to Miami's 116 and the glass, where Miami has been plus-1 a night and Brooklyn minus-5. Call it Brooklyn 110, Miami 108, Miami keeping it close.
1/22 @ HOU 108-109 — CLE notes
CLE lost 108-109. CLE shot 42% (41 of 97) to HOU's 44%, 13 of 41 from three. CLE turned it over 13 times to HOU's 22. Garland led with 26 (10 of 21, 3 of 6 from three, 3 of 8 at the line); Mitchell added 19, Jerome 18. Q4 was theirs, 25-15, the deficit cut from 11 to 1, but the other 3 periods went 94-83 against them. They led by as many as 11.
1/24 @ PHI 129-132 — CLE notes
CLE lost 129-132. CLE shot 50% (45 of 90) to PHI's 51%, 25 of 52 from three, and got to the line 19 times to PHI's 27. Mitchell led with 37 (12 of 23, 7 of 15 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Jerome added 33, Garland 26. Q2 was theirs, 34-25, turning a 6-point deficit into a 3-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 107-95 against them. Niang's -17 in 18 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/25 vs HOU 131-135 — CLE notes
CLE lost 131-135. CLE took 9 more shots (91 to 82), fed by 10 offensive rebounds, but shot 52% to HOU's 55%, 17 of 39 from three, and got to the line 26 times to HOU's 45. Garland led with 39 (14 of 22, 4 of 7 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); Mitchell added 33, Niang 21. Q4 was theirs, 47-34, the deficit cut from 17 to 4, but the other 3 periods went 101-84 against them. Merrill's -16 in 17 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/27 vs DET 110-91 — CLE notes
CLE won 110-91. CLE shot 44% (40 of 91) to DET's 39%, 12 of 44 from three, and went to the line 23 times to DET's 11 — 18 points from the stripe to their 7. Garland led with 22 (8 of 19, 3 of 11 from three); Mitchell added 21, Allen 15. The hinge was Q2, 29-22: a lead of 3 became 10, and the lead reached 22. Strus was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
1/29 @ MIA 126-106 — CLE notes
CLE won 126-106. CLE shot 54% (54 of 100) to MIA's 47%, 13 of 42 from three, and got to the line 6 times to MIA's 15. CLE turned it over 7 times to MIA's 12. The glass went 47-35 for them. Mitchell led with 34 (14 of 23, 5 of 11 from three); Mobley added 22, Jerome 20. The hinge was Q1, 31-21: from level to 10 ahead, and the lead reached 22. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
1/30 vs ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 115, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Mitchell at 29 and Garland at 28 a game. Without LeVert (6 straight), Wade (3 straight), Okoro (7 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Atlanta comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 101 a night and allowing 111, shooting 41 percent and 26 from three, 23 free throws a game; Hunter at 17 and Young at 17 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Johnson (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the arc, Cleveland at 37 percent from three to Atlanta's 26 and the turnovers, Atlanta giving it away 17 times a game to Cleveland's 11. Call it Cleveland 118, Atlanta 111.
2/02 vs DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 116, shooting 52 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Mitchell at 30 and Garland at 28 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without LeVert (7 straight), Wade (4 straight), Okoro (8 straight). 2 days' rest. Dallas comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 120, shooting 49 percent and 42 from three, 24 free throws a game; Irving at 22 and Washington at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Lively II (9 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Dallas giving it away 15 times a game to Cleveland's 11 and the arc, Dallas at 42 percent from three to Cleveland's 37. Call it Cleveland 122, Dallas 114.
2/04 vs BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 130 a night and allowing 110, shooting 53 percent and 39 from three, 18 free throws a game; Garland at 26 and Mitchell at 25 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Wade (5 straight), Okoro (9 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 109, shooting 47 percent and 40 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brown at 25 and Tatum at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-7 a night and Boston minus-4. Call it Cleveland 119, Boston 113.
2/05 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 119, shooting 48 percent and 31 from three, 21 free throws a game; Cunningham at 29 and Beasley at 17 a game. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 105, shooting 51 percent and 36 from three, 18 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Garland at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Wade (6 straight), Okoro (10 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 105 a night to Detroit's 119 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-7 a night and Detroit plus-0. Call it Cleveland 117, Detroit 114, Detroit keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECP C. Porter Jr.
DM D. Mitchell
EB E. Bates
EM E. Mobley
GN G. Niang
JA J. Allen
JT J. Tyson
MS M. Strus
TJ T. Jerome
TT T. Thompson
MIABA B. Adebayo
DR D. Robinson
HH H. Highsmith
JC J. Christopher
JJ J. Jaquez Jr.
KW K. Ware
NJ N. Jović
PL P. Larsson
TH T. Herro
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
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
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
Donovan Mitchell scores 34 points, Cavaliers never trail in 126-106 win over Heat
MIAMI -- — Donovan Mitchell scored 34 points, Ty Jerome added 20 off the bench and the Cleveland Cavaliers never trailed in a 126-106 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
It was Mitchell's 14th 30-point game of the season, his fifth in his last seven outings.
Evan Mobley had 22 points and 15 rebounds for Cleveland, which got 13 points from Georges Niang and 12 points and 10 rebounds from Jarrett Allen .
Tyler Herro and Terry Rozier each scored 22 points for Miami. Bam Adebayo had 21 points and Duncan Robinson finished with 13 for the Heat, who were outrebounded 47-35.
Cleveland improved to 29-2 when holding teams to 116 points or less — the Cavs are 9-7 otherwise — and 33-0 when leading after three quarters.
Takeaways Cavaliers: Darius Garland — averaging 21.7 points per game — was held out to rest, the second game he's missed this season. “We obviously have all the numbers and the data and all that. I’m just thinking of him first,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said.
Heat: Miami was held to 41 points in the first half, tying a season low. The Heat then scored 43 points in the third quarter, with Herro getting eight points in the final 40 seconds to get Miami within 94-84.
Key moment Just after Miami got within eight early in the fourth, Cleveland went on a 7-0 run in 44 seconds. Mitchell's 3-pointer with 10:15 left made it 101-86 and the Cavs kept control from there.
Key stat It was Cleveland's sixth wire-to-wire win of the season — the first of those that came on the road. Miami never led, the fourth time this season that's happened to the Heat.
Up next Cleveland starts a three-game homestand Thursday night against Atlanta. Miami opens a four-game trip Saturday night at San Antonio.