By Joe Vardon, James Jackson and Jared Weiss
The Cleveland Cavaliers slammed the door on any hope the Miami Heat had of finding some momentum on their home court with a 124-87 win on Saturday to take a 3-0 lead in their first-round playoff series. The 37-point defeat was Miami’s worst loss ever in the postseason and also marked the third-largest win in Cavaliers’ franchise history.
The Cavs were dominant defensively and had a balanced score sheet, with six players in double figures. Ty Jerome set a franchise record with 11 assists off the bench in a playoff game to go with 13 points.
11 ASSISTS FOR TY JEROME 🔥
It’s the most by a Cavs player off the bench in playoff history!#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google on TNT. pic.twitter.com/4yHX3YdvEf
— NBA (@NBA) April 26, 2025
Bam Adebayo was Miami’s only player to eclipse 20 points, tallying 22 alongside nine rebounds.
As the Cavaliers look to sweep their way into the second round, the series stays in Miami for Game 4. The matchup is slated for April 28.
Cavs win comfortably as Cleveland fans look to … Green Bay?
The Browns’ pick of Shedeur Sanders on Day 3 of the NFL Draft came about just as the Cavs and Heat returned to the court from halftime.
Cleveland promptly came out and took 3 1/2 minutes to make a shot and opened the third quarter 1-of-10.
Then again, the Cavs were up 20. They had a cushion to withstand the Sanders shock. Are the Browns up by 20 on the NFL?
I digress, then again, the Browns’ drafting of one of the most historic draft plummeters is going to suck up all the oxygen in Cleveland. Fear not fellow northeast Ohioans, when you catch your breath you’ll see the basketball series featuring your favorite team is, for all intents and purposes, over.
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The Cavs played one of their best games in two months Saturday, blowing Miami’s doors off after two slightly close, occasionally uncomfortable home games. No team has ever recovered from a 3-0 deficit in the NBA playoffs, and the Heat have shown no indication they will be the first.
If there was going to be a juicy storyline from Game 3 — the Darius Garland-Tyler Herro spat — well, that blew up because Garland missed the game with a left big toe sprain. It’s the same injury he dealt with near the end of the regular season and he re-aggravated it at the end of Game 2, moments before announcing the Cavs’ game plan was to attack Herro (suggesting Herro is weak on defense).
Garland was on the court for Friday’s light practice, with basketball shoes on, and was seen jumping and shooting, but didn’t work out before Saturday’s game. It’s as good a guess as any that Cleveland simply felt, being up 2-0 at the time, there was no reason to force Garland on Saturday. The Cavs were proven correct.
With no Garland on the floor, the Heat were without any obvious targets to hunt while on offense (Sam Merrill started for Garland and didn’t play particularly well, but he’s an underrated defender). In fact, Herro’s former Miami teammate Max Strus started the game guarding Herro tight. Herro shot just 2 of 6 in the first half and was 5-of-13 for 13 points when this lopsided game ended.
Allen shredded Miami’s smaller frontcourt with 22 points and nine rebounds, and the new NBA Defensive Player of the Year had an insane block to go with his 19 points, six rebounds and steal. De’Andre Hunter added 21 points off the bench.
In other words, Cleveland had no trouble making up for the 24 points Garland averaged in the first two games.
Now, go back to freaking out over Sanders, Cleveland. — Joe Vardon, senior NBA writer
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Heat’s offense goes cold
Untimely scoring droughts will be the key culprit behind Miami’s on-court issues this season. Like most Heat teams, this one displays a knack for getting key stops, scores and staying close enough to make a run, but going against such a dominant Cavaliers team — even without Garland for Game 3 — requires opponents to click on all cylinders.
Unfortunately for the Heat, missed layups, traveling violations, air balls and stagnant offense made Game 3 more of a math equation than anything else, because Miami simply ran out of possessions to keep the matchup close, which has been a theme behind the team’s struggles this season.
A double-digit rebound deficit, roughly half as many free throws as Cleveland and losing the turnover battle did Miami no favors despite shooting well from deep. But luck from long range did only so much as the Heat shot far worse on 2s.
Trash talk from Garland and Strus got the Heat charged up throughout the week, but the Cavaliers simply played better on Saturday, gradually diminishing every Heat fan’s chant to mere whispers with better ball movement and possession control. The Heat fight hard to compete through every game, but it was evident early they wouldn’t have much for Cleveland if the latter maintained rhythm on offense.
Evan Mobley and Allen controlled the paint as Adebayo often settled for jumpers and Herro attempted 13 shot attempts with only two trips to the free-throw line. Both Miami stars combined for nine of the team’s 12 turnovers, leaving the Heat no room to dominate on either side of the ball as their season nears an end. — James Jackson, NBA staff editor
we know they make DUNKaroos… what about SLAMDUNKaroos?? Just asking for a friend.@evanmobley | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/RLQ9d1RHQz
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) April 26, 2025
Mobley steps up
The Heat had their big opportunity to capitalize on the momentum from Game 2 without Garland in the way, but the offense completely fell off a cliff. This was a dominant defensive performance from Mobley to shut down so much of what Miami was trying to do. But it also highlighted how limited the Heat’s playmaking is and how there is little connectivity between the offensive triumvirate of Herro, Adebayo and Davion Mitchell.
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Mobley takes away most of the Heat’s handoff actions that create quick looks at 3, plus his closeouts and rim contests took most of Miami’s role players out of the action. We’re used to seeing Heat teams struggle offensively because of the talent, but ever since the Jimmy Butler trade, it’s been an uphill battle to get the offensive execution you expect from an Erik Spoelstra team. It looks like that climb is just about over. — Jared Weiss, NBA staff writer
(Photo: Rich Storry / Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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