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Wrap-Up -- For the Cavaliers, there isn’t a more unkind arena in the Association than Miami’s – and for the 14th consecutive visit, that proved to be true once again on Tuesday.
The Wine & Gold haven’t won in South Beach since late January 2010, and they’ll have to wait another year to try to snap that skid as the Heat ended Cleveland’s five-game win streak in convincing fashion – going nearly wire-to-wire for the 98-79 win.
The Cavaliers had scored at least 120 points in four consecutive games heading into Tuesday’s affair, but Miami’s stingy defense brought that run to an end as well – holding Cleveland to a season-low, shooting just 37 percent from the floor and 15 percent (4-of-26) from beyond the arc.
Miami jumped on the Cavs early – taking a double-digit lead after one quarter and barely looking back from there. Cleveland cut the Heat’s 23-point lead to 11 midway through the fourth quarter, but would get no closer.
Playing against his former squad, LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 18 points, but his streak of superhuman performances came to an end against one of the East’s nastiest defensive squads – even without the services of injured center Hassan Whiteside.
On the night, James went 7-for-18 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the stripe – adding six boards and a game-high seven assists. Adding to the four-time MVP’s frustrations on Tuesday, he committed six turnovers and had two of his shot attempts rejected by Dwyane Wade.
Jose Calderon was the only other starter in double-figures – and the only starter to hit a three-pointer – finishing with 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting to go with a pair of assists and a steal.
Rodney Hood had his third straight strong showing off the bench – albeit in a losing effort – tallying 15 points on 6-for-13 shooting.
Jordan Clarkson scored six of his 11 points in the fourth quarter as Cleveland attempted to make a late push. Overall, the fourth-year guard went 5-for-13 from the field, his 16th double-figure scoring performance in now 20 games as a Cavalier.
The Wine & Gold’s rotation – already shorthanded without the services of Kyle Korver and Cedi Osman – was dealt a tough early blow as Kevin Love suffered a loose front tooth and possible concussion on a blocking call less than a minute-and-a-half into the game.
Love returned to action and played a total of seven first-quarter minutes, but soon after headed to the Cavs locker room with concussion-like symptoms. He’ll be re-examined in the morning, with his status for Wednesday’s matchup in Charlotte to be determined.
Rodney Hood chipped in 15 points off the bench on Tuesday.
Cleveland did have two reserves tally double-digit boards – with Tristan Thompson leading both teams with 13 boards, five off the offensive glass, and Larry Nance Jr. snagging 10 rebounds of his own.
Kelly Olynyk came off Miami’s bench to lead both squads – finishing with 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, adding five boards, three assists and three steals.
The Heat outran Cleveland on the break, 13-3, handed out 24 assists to 15 for the Cavaliers and swatted 10 shots to a single block for the Cavaliers, with Dwyane Wade leading the way with four of them.
Turning Point -- Although one could say that this one got away from the Cavaliers early, they flirted with a comeback for much of the second half.
With 7:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, Jordan Clarkson’s layup capped an 8-1 run that cut Miami’s lead to 11 – 80-69. But after a timeout, the Heat responded immediately with buckets from Wade and Olynyk. Goran Dragic drilled a three-pointer with 5:11 to play to put Eric Spoelstra’s team back up 18.
Miami would extend its edge to as many as 23 down the stretch before Larry Drew raised the white flag and emptied his bench with 2:46 to play.
By the Numbers – 11.0 … rebounds per game that Tristan Thompson is averaging in three contests since returning to the lineup last Friday night.
Quotable – Coach Larry Drew, on Tuesday’s lopsided loss on South Beach …
”We missed shots early and we allowed their pressure to take us out of some stuff we wanted to do. When we got down, it just became too big of a deficit.”
Up Next -- After falling to 1-1 on their current three-game trip – and with just eight games remaining in the regular season – the Cavaliers close out the roadie on Wednesday night in Charlotte, taking on the suddenly-hot Hornets. Cleveland returns home to close out the month of March with a Friday night date against Anthony Davis and the Pelicans – tipping off a four-game homestand that sees Dallas roll in for an Easter Sunday matchup, the Raptors back at The Q next Tuesday and a visit by the Wizards on Thursday night. The Cavs close out the regular season with a two-game trip to Philly and New York followed by a final visit from the Knicks on April 11.