The Cavaliers, the last time they were in South Beach, were a number one seed. A team at the peak of their powers in the midst of executing the biggest score discrepancy in a four-game series. Now, in the 2025-2026 season, the Cavaliers look to be a team finding a consistent identity and searching for the execution fans got accustomed to last season.
There was a lot to unpack with this game, there were long stretches were the Cavaliers just looked out of sync and the offense was as stagnant as it has been this season. The defensive lapses were aplenty, and the team looked to have been hungover on the Miami nightlife. The referee’s foul selection was also not ideal, as one could make the case that there was a double standard on what constitutes physical play versus harassment.
The egregious foul calls got to the point where Kenny Atkinson decided to give head referee Scott Foster his two cents. That decision earned Kenny the opportunity to view the remainder of the game from the visitor’s locker room.
While the Cavaliers struggled for long stretches against the Heat, they found themselves reclaiming the lead due to Sam Merrill 4 straight threes in the early fourth quarter to tie the game at 106. This was the first lead the Cavaliers had since 48-46 in the second quarter.
Darius Garland looked to be off all night during his 19 minutes of play. Garland sat out of Friday’s game against the Bulls with a toe injury management designation. Turns out there was more to manage with that toe than what was anticipated as Garland appeared to agitate the injury in the second quarter.
While driving to the basket, it looked like the toe snagged on the hardwood. From then on it appeared that Garland was laboring and sure enough despite starting the third quarter Garland exited the game on a purposeful intentional foul. This is surely not a great sign for the Cavaliers, who appeared to take proper precautions when ramping Garland back up to playing speed.
While the Cavaliers missed Garland, the role players really rose to the occasion. The aforementioned Merrill helped dig the Cavaliers out of a 12-point deficit single handedly. Lonzo Ball, Dean Wade, and Jaylon Tyson all made necessary three-point shots to match the Heat’s efforts. There was a significant effort shown in the second half as well, the offensive rebounding discrepancy was 27-11. There was a real will shown on display for as ugly as this game got.
At the end of the day, it was Evan Mobley who looked to have sealed the deal. Knockdown a clutch three in the closing minute followed up by an arguably even more impressive block. Unfortunately, Jaime Jaquez had other plans, knocking down a middy with 8 seconds left. For how much of a slog this game was, it was only fitting that it would go to overtime.
Overtime was some more of Mobley delivering clutch buckets, as he made a midrange jumper while fouled with 1:49 left in overtime. However, it looked like the Heat could score however frequently they wanted around the rim. The Heat scored all three of the field goals made from middies.
Just when it looked like the Cavaliers due to a 9-1-1 three by Donovan Mitchell tied the game up at 138 to head into a second overtime, the heat executed a perfect play with .4 seconds left to crush any hopes of more basketball.
As the Cavaliers look to match up again against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, the team can look back at the film and hopefully see what lead to this turnaround in execution. For now, while this game was a rock fight and a tough loss, this was still a gritty effort and those are also appreciated.