Darius Garland scored 25 points and dished a game-high seven assists to lead the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers to a 104-100 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
Donovan Mitchell, despite going just 1-for-7 on 3-pointers, added 18 points as Cleveland won its third straight game. Teammate Jarrett Allen had 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 28 points, five rebounds and five assists as Miami had its two-game win streak snapped.
Tyler Herro added 22 points for Miami, and Bam Adebayo had 17 points.
The Heat committed a season-high 24 turnovers, and that helped to somewhat negate their 50 percent shooting from the floor.
Heat power forward Kevin Love, who missed Miami’s previous game due to a rib injury, returned to play against his former team, producing eight points and eight rebounds.
Miami shot 70.6 percent in the first quarter, including 2 of 4 on 3-pointers, to grab a 30-26 lead. Love was a low-key standout with four points, four rebounds and two charges drawn in that first period.
The first half, which featured 18 lead changes and six ties, ended with Cleveland on top, 57-53. Miami, which had Adebayo for just two minutes in the second quarter, cooled off with a 38.9 shooting percentage. Cleveland shot 52.2 percent.
Cleveland grew its lead to 78-66 midway through the third quarter, but Miami responded with a 9-0 run. The Cavs recovered to take an 87-82 edge into the fourth quarter.
Miami cut its deficit to 98-97 on a Caleb Martin dunk with 2:44 left. But Garland made two straight huge plays -- a fadeaway jumper in the lane and an assist that led to an Isaac Okoro layup, giving Cleveland a 102-97 lead with 49 seconds left.
Herro kept Miami in the game with a 3-pointer from the left corner with 20.7 seconds remaining.
Allen then made 1 of 2 free throws to give Cleveland a 103-100 lead. Miami’s Max Strus had a would-be tying 3-pointer rim out, and Evan Mobley made a clinching free throw with 2.3 seconds left.
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