Cleveland Cavaliers’ backcourt controlled Game 1 and hope for an encore against the Miami Heat

CLEVELAND – Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Ty Jerome kept the Miami Heat on guard throughout Game 1 of their National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference first-round series.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ three-man backcourt rotation combined to score 85 points in a 121-100 home victory on April 20, with 27 of them in the fourth quarter to turn an eight-point lead into a decisive triumph.

The Heat knew how dangerous All-Stars Mitchell and Garland were, along with backup Jerome, but were unable to hold them off.

They recognise that things must change in Game 2 on April 23 (April 24, Singapore time).

“You’ve been seeing them all season. You understand what it is, what they do,” Heat power forward Bam Adebayo said. “They make smart plays. They try to make the right play every possession, so we can’t have defensive lapses.”

The top-seeded Cavaliers went inside and outside in Game 1 to force mistakes. Mitchell attacked aggressively and made nine of 10 shots from within the arc, while Garland and Jerome combined to bury 10 of 17 three-point attempts.

The trio will again be Cleveland’s biggest weapons going forward.

“I’ve got great teammates, a great coaching staff, great fans behind me,” said Jerome, who became just the third player in Cavaliers history to score 28 or more points in his play-off debut, joining LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

Perhaps the most worrisome aspect of the Heat’s loss was how many offensive off-nights Cleveland overcame from other players.

All-Star power forward Evan Mobley was a non-factor with nine points and seven rebounds, while top bench scorer De’Andre Hunter did not have a point in 16 minutes.

The Cavaliers, who averaged a league-best 121.9 points in the regular season, also did not move the ball especially well with 21 assists on 45 baskets.

They relied on other aspects of the game to earn their 65th victory in 83 contests under first-year coach Kenny Atkinson.

“We set the tone with our physicality,” Garland said. “We were really physical attacking people when they were cutting through, rebounding really well, getting to the foul line a little bit. It was great.”

“It’s the play-offs and that’s ultimately what it is, the little things,” Mitchell added. “The 30 (points) is cool, that’s what I’m known for. But to me, it’s the steals, boxing out, diving on loose balls that’s going to take us to the next level.”

Adebayo led Miami in Game 1 with 24 points and nine rebounds. Tyler Herro had 21 points and Davion Mitchell scored 18 points off the bench.

Heat power forward Kevin Love, a member of the 2016 NBA champions Cavaliers, remains away from the team for personal reasons.

Miami on April 22 also ruled out point guard Terry Rozier, who sprained his left ankle a day earlier during an optional workout at Cleveland State.

Meanwhile, in play-off action on April 22, the Indiana Pacers withstood another big performance from Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who tallied 34 points and 18 rebounds, and the return of Damian Lillard, beating the Bucks 123-115 to take a 2-0 lead in their NBA Eastern Conference first-round series.

Pascal Siakam scored 24 points and pulled down 11 rebounds and Tyrese Haliburton added 21 points and 12 assists for the Pacers, who saw a 15-point fourth-quarter lead slashed to two thanks to a 13-0 scoring run from the Bucks.

Indiana held on for a wire-to-wire win, and Western Conference top seeds the Oklahoma City Thunder also led throughout in defeating Memphis 118-99 – two days after a crushing 51-point victory over the Grizzlies in Game 1.

Also in the West, the Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from a Game 1 defeat to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-85 at home.

They were led by 31 points and 12 rebounds from Luka Doncic, while James contributed 21 points and 11 rebounds. The Timberwolves got 27 points from Julius Randle and 25 from Anthony Edwards.

REUTERS, AFP