MIAMI – Death, taxes and the Cleveland Cavaliers losing in Miami. These are the three certainties of life. Benjamin Franklin just didn’t know the last part.
The Cavs lost to the Heat again on Saturday night, 115-101. They haven’t won in Miami since January 25, 2010. There are 20 consecutive trips without a win.
Asked about futility in the early morning, Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff said the team was trying not to bring it up. Many of these losses occurred before this group of players. But everyone knows. It is an obvious weight. At some point it has to end, right? Do the odds need to change? Just not on Saturday.
In the first half, the defense was a matter for Cleveland. The Heat dropped 67 points while shooting 58.1% and 47.6% in the 3-point range. Four Miami players had already scored double digits at the end of those fervent 24 minutes. The Cavs made adjustments at the break, took physicality and limited Miami to 48 points in the past two quarters, including a measly 17 in the third. But Cleveland’s attack slowed, barely breaking the 100-point mark for the first time in five games.
“I thought it was a story of two halves,” said Bickerstaff after the defeat. “I thought we did a phenomenal job in that second half. I thought that our scrap and our courage were much better in the second half. You are playing with a team of caliber like this with the weapons they have, you have to play for 48. There were only small plays that I thought at first disappointed us. “
Pivot Jarrett Allen, who is back home recovering from a concussion, lost his fourth straight game. Larry Nance Jr. also did not make the trip, absent for the third time in a row. Kevin Love remained with a strict restriction of minutes, playing 23 minutes before being pulled in the fourth half and riding the exercise bike for the rest of the night.
In his sixth game this season, Love ended with a double-double, scoring 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“We’ve increased a little since the last game,” said Bickerstaff of Love’s minute restriction. “He’s working to pick up his pace. He will do the 3s he got tonight, he will pick up his pace and they will. But you see his presence in the defense glass, see how the teams respect him and how they protect him, it helps his teammates to open up too. “
Collin Sexton led the game, with the best mark in the game, 26 points out of 11 out of 17 pitches. The Taurean prince, who recently returned from a sprained shoulder and is playing with less than 100 percent ankle, scored 19 points on the bench. Newcomer Isaac Okoro made a record of 17 out of 5 out of 7 shots. Cleveland hit 47.3% on the night. He made 10 points out of 3. He made 25 assists in 35 shots. But he also committed 16 turnovers that the Heat turned into 16 points.
Miami used a surgical and balanced approach to attack. Seven players scored in double figures, led by Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson. Each scored 18. Miami made 15 triples.
With 1:47 to go, game owner Darius Garland attempted to attack Trevor Ariza. Referee Dannica Mosher called it a block instead. While lying on the court, angry at the phone call, Garland punched Mosher in the head and shouted his displeasure. He was cautioned for a technical foul and his first expulsion from his career.
“They decided to expel him because of a technique, which I totally disagree with,” said Bickerstaff. “There is no justification for taking him out of the game by a technique.”
That moment captured the frustration of Garland – and the Cavs, too. Traveling to Miami has become a nightmare.
Next
The Cavs will continue their three-game trip against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. Delivery is scheduled for 19h
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