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WRAP-UP
It’s not completely surprising that the Cavaliers had a rough night in Miami. They’ve struggled in the Heat’s home gym since 2010.
The fact that Wednesday’s lopsided loss came as a result of a red-hot Duncan Robinson, however, is a bit of a shocker.
The undrafted sophomore swingman from Michigan drilled seven three-pointers in the second quarter, eight in the first half and nine overall as the Heat jumped out to a big first-half lead, coasting to the finish line and the 124-100 win.
It was the Wine & Gold’s 17th straight loss on South Beach, a streak that dates back to January 25, 2010. More importantly, it was the Cavaliers’ fifth straight this season – and they haven’t been particularly competitive in the last four, trailing by at least 26 points at one point in each of them.
The storyline was a familiar one: the Cavs fell behind by double-digits in the first quarter, saw their opponent stretch the lead in the second and hold off Cleveland’s run after intermission.
The Cavaliers were more competitive in the second stanza on Wednesday – possibly prompted by Coach John Beilein’s lineup change at half, inserting Matthew Dellavedova, Kevin Porter Jr. and Jordan Clarkson into the starting five.
The hole they tried to dig themselves out of was dug by Robinson – who played four years in Ann Arbor under Beilein. Robinson finished with a game-high 29 points, going 9-of-15 from three-point range, one shy of a Heat franchise record.
The Cavaliers were paced by Kevin Love, who returned from missing Monday’s matchup in New York to lead Cleveland with 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-9 from long-range and 4-of-4 from the stripe, adding a game-high 13 boards. It was Love’s sixth 20-point effort of the season.
Collin Sexton followed up with 19 points – his 37th straight game in double-figures – going 8-of-16 from the floor to go with two boards and a pair of steals. His backcourt mate, Darius Garland, also notched double-figures, finishing with 10 points, three assists and a steal.
Larry Nance Jr. – getting the start for Tristan Thompson, who got the night off – tallied 12 of his 16 points in the first quarter, going 6-of-12 from the floor, including 2-of-4 from deep, to go with nine boards and a pair of steals.
Jordan Clarkson led Cleveland’s reserves with 12 points, adding four boards and a pair of assists in 17 minutes of work off the bench.
HIGHLIGHT
Larry Nance Jr. does what he does best in the second quarter, throwing down a big slam against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night in South Beach.
TURNING POINT
If not for Duncan Robinson, the top at halftime would have been Kevin Love’s 15-point second quarter, going 4-of-6 from the floor, 3-of-4 from three-point range.
Instead, Robinson’s 21-point period propelled the Heat to a 43-point second and a 75-48 lead at the break. In the quarter, the Heat shot 71 percent from the floor, went 10-of-15 from beyond the arc.
Miami scored the first 11 points of the second quarter and closed it on a 16-3 run.
BY THE NUMBERS
18.7, 12.2 … Kevin Love’s scoring and rebounding averages – tops on the squad in both categories; his high-water rebounding mark in a Cavaliers uniform.
His 12.2 rpg is good for 6th in the NBA and he’s tied for 8th in the league with nine double-doubles.
QUOTABLE
Larry Nance Jr., with a blunt assessment of the Cavs’ recent defensive woes …
"We can’t guard anybody, individually. We haven’t taken the challenge in a long time to stop your man one-on-one. We get driven past on the perimeter and that leads to drop-offs, lobs and all that stuff. And that’s both guards and bigs. At some point we need to take the challenge, at some point we have to get sick of getting 120 put on our heads and man up."
CALLS OF THE GAME
Enjoy the best broadcast calls of the night from Cavaliers Radio Network's Tim Alcorn and 97.7 La Mega's Rafa Hernandez-Brito.
UP NEXT
It definitely doesn’t get any easier as the Cavaliers wrap up their three-game roadie – taking on one of the hottest players in the league right now – Luka Doncic – and his equally-hot Mavericks, winners of three straight, on Friday night in Dallas.
Cleveland wraps up a tough stretch of five games in seven days on Saturday night, when they tip off a six-game homestand with a meeting against Damian Lillard and the Blazers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.