Another Gritty Win, Three Reasons Why The Cavs Held On To Beat Miami
Another close one for the Cleveland Cavaliers!
But just like their overtime game against the Boston Celtics on Monday night, the good guys came out on top. Cleveland was able to hang on and come away with the 104-100 victory over the Miami Heat and old friend Kevin Love.
This one was tight all the way with the largest lead by either team being 12 points by the Cavs. But even that didn't last too long.
These are the reasons why the Cavs were able to hold on and secure the win:
Spreading Out The Scoring
One of the biggest reasons that the Cavs were able to come away with a victory was that they didn't rely on one man to do it all. They distributed the scoring between each other nicely with eight players recording a field goal.
Darius Garland led the way with 25 points, but Cleveland had all five of their starters scoring in double figures. This isn't easy to do against a team with a defense like Miami does.
Points Off Turnovers
The Miami Heat don't give away the ball often. They average just 13.6 turnovers per game which is the sixth lowest in the NBA. But the Cavs flipped the script on them on Wednesday night.
Cleveland forced Miami to cough up the ball 24 times through their elite defense on the perimeter and in the paint. These 24 turnovers turned in 29 points for the Cavs which ended up being the real difference maker in the game.
Dominance In The Paint
The Cavs give up the least amount of points per game in the NBA this season. But right behind them are the Miami Heat who have just as good of a defense as Cleveland does, especially in the paint.
But after this game, the Cavs proved that their big-man duo of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley was just too much for the Heat to handle.
Bam Adebayo has gained the reputation of being the best center in the NBA, and for good reason. He's a fantastic offensive center while also being the anchor in the Heat's defense.
But Mobley and Allen absolutely shut him down on Wednesday night. Bam finished with just eight points and one rebound. One. Uno. Single. However, you want to say it. This is incredibly rare for a player that averages 8.5 a game.
Bam got into foul trouble early and it was clear he was timid around the point which allowed Cleveland's big men to feast.
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