Cleveland Cavaliers Star Calls Out Miami Heat's Tyler Herro After Game 2 Win

Darius Garland and the Cleveland Cavaliers got the best of the Miami Heat in Game 2.

Apr 20, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) drives against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) in the first quarter at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

After the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Game 2 victory over the Miami Heat, star point guard Darius Garland was asked, “What’s the key to playing clean basketball against a team like that?”

Garland didn’t hold back in his response.

“Pick on Tyler Herro and take care of the ball. Don’t play in tight spaces and pick on their weak defenders.”

“Pick on Tyler Herro and take care of the ball.”

Asked Darius Garland about why the #Cavs have been so clean in the turnover department against an aggressive Heat defense.

Kenny Atkinson also chimed in. pic.twitter.com/RoQleD7urF

— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) April 24, 2025

With that comment, a rivalry has officially budded between Garland and Heat guard Tyler Herro. It is no surprise that Cleveland has targeted Herro when they have the ball on offense. 

During Game 1, a hot TV microphone caught his own teammate Bam Adebayo calling him out in a timeout huddle, expressing that Cleveland is just attacking the shooting guard.

While Herro was elite on the offensive side of the ball in Game 2, finishing with 33 points on 14-for-24 shooting, he finished his plus/minus as just a +1 on the night. Anytime that he was on the floor, the Cavaliers were able to score against him, and they did it in bunches. 

For the second game in a row, Cleveland’s guards tell the story of how it got the victory. Donovan Mitchell led the way with 30 points on the night, with 17 of those coming in the fourth quarter. 

On the other hand, Garland finished with a modest 21 points and nine assists against just one turnover on the evening. 

The Cavaliers' backcourt tandem was the difference in a game that went from a blowout to a nailbiter in the last six minutes of the fourth quarter.

As the series shifts to South Beach, it will be critical for the Cleveland duo to continue their strong play. Erik Spoelstra and the Heat found something in the Cavs’ armor that they are going to attack. 

For Cleveland, it is going to be identifying the exposed weakness and pushing the pedal down to what it is doing well. One of the things the team is doing exceptionally well is not turning the ball over. That is due to several reasons but one of those is that they are constantly attacking Tyler Herro.