Miami Heat @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Friday, March 27, 2026 at 7:30 PM ET
Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH | Game ID: 22501068
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 40 41 28 40 149MIA 27 19 41 41 128
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Max Strus makes eight 3s scores 29, Jarrett Allen returns as Cavs roll to 149-128 win over Heat
CLEVELAND -- — Max Strus scored 29 points, Evan Mobley had 23 and Jarrett Allen came back from injury to add 18, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 149-128 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night in the second matchup between the teams in three days.
Strus made six of his eight 3-pointers in a 22-point first half as the Cavs bolted to a 35-point lead. He made one just ahead of the halftime horn to put Cleveland ahead 81-46 and cap the team's highest scoring half this season.
The Cavs bounced back from a 120-103 loss to the Heat on Wednesday with a strong performance and matched the team record for points in a regulation game.
Allen's return provided a major spark. He missed 10 games with tendinitis in his knee. The 27-year-old's absence especially hurt on defense and deprived him time to build chemistry with star guard James Harden , whose acquisition at the trade deadline has raised title hopes.
Harden finished with 17 points and 14 assists, his most with Cleveland. Donovan Mitchell scored just six on 1 of 10 shooting.
Down by 36, the Heat fought back and got within 101-82 on a 3-pointer by Jamie Jaquez Jr. But Cleveland regrouped and Keon Ellis drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Cavaliers a comfortable 109-87 lead entering the fourth.
Jaquez scored 20 points to pace the Heat. Bam Adebayo added 14 and 16 rebounds.
The loss dropped Miami from a three-way tie for the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference into 10th, behind Orlando and Charlotte, which were idle.
Strus, who was playing in just his sixth game after foot surgery, made an immediate impact by making four 3-pointers in the last 4:37 of the first quarter to help the Cavs open a double-digit lead.
MIA KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLEDS D. Schröder
EM E. Mobley
JA J. Allen
JH J. Harden
KE K. Ellis
LN L. Nance Jr.
MS M. Strus
NT N. Tomlin
OS O. Sarr
RM R. Minix
SM S. Merrill
SC Schroder
TB T. Bryant
TP T. Proctor
MIAAW A. Wiggins
BA B. Adebayo
DM D. Mitchell
JJ J. Jaquez Jr.
JA Jakucionis
KJ K. Jakučionis
KJ K. Johnson
KW K. Ware
MG M. Gardner
NP N. Powell
PL P. Larsson
SF S. Fontecchio
TH T. Herro
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