Ty Jerome's Game 1 Brilliance Hardly a Surprise to Cavaliers

The Sixth Man of the Year finalist dropped 28 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Miami Heat 121-100

Apr 20, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome (2) reacts after making a three-point basket in the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

If you're new to the Ty Jerome experience, welcome.

For most role players making their playoff debut, a 28-point performance would be a miraculous feat. For Jerome, it was nothing new. He's been doing this all season , which is probably why he downplayed it after the Cleveland Cavaliers' 121-100, Game 1 win over the Miami Heat.

"Solid, yeah," Jerome said after helping lift the Cavs to victory. "Solid Game 1. We can really evaluate after the series."

It was certainly more than solid. Jerome provided the biggest spark of the game for the Cavs, who, despite keeping Miami at an arm's length for most of the 48 minutes, couldn't quite pull away deep into the third quarter.

Then Jerome happened. Head coach Kenny Atkinson subbed him in with about six minutes to go in the third. He might as well have thrown a Molotov cocktail out onto the floor.

Jerome's explosion began with about four minutes to go in that third period, scoring four points in the final few minutes of it. It was only the beginning of his ridiculous surge.

The next 7:30 of game time to open up the fourth quarter became his stage, as a combination of floaters and threes filled up the hoop en route to a 16-point final stanza. It was capped off by back-to-back triples, first a pirouetting one from straight on, then a transition pull-up from the upper point of the Cavaliers "C" logo at midcourt to put the game away.

Jerome scored or assisted on all 24 points scored during that stretch. It was awe-inspiring and yet so ordinary.

"This is who he's been," asserted Cavs star Donovan Mitchell. "This isn't a shocker, I don't think any of us are surprised at what he's doing on a nightly basis. He's done this at every level for us this season."

Having played AAU ball with Jerome growing up in New York City, Mitchell has known what Jerome can do longer than anyone. Hence why he remains so unfazed by Jerome's latest display of brilliance.

"It's pretty wild, but this is who Ty is," he added. "This is not a shock. Everybody is gonna react like this is a shock but he's been doing this for us all year. This is just an added bonus, every time he steps on the floor he's doing something positive."

Jerome averaged 12.5 points off the bench for the Cavs this season and provided some truly dazzling performances along the way. That includes 13 games where he scored 20 or more points and a career-best 33-point effort against the 76ers back in January. It's why he was named a finalist for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year.

The playoffs are a totally different beast than the regular season, though. Which is why even Atkinson had to admit he wasn't anticipating Jerome's first postseason experience going down the way it did. He too won't make the same mistake again.

"I should have [seen it coming] cause he's kinda done it all year," said Atkinson. "Was slowed down a little bit with that [knee] injury, but I shouldn't be surprised."

Cavaliers fans were already plenty familiar with Jerome's game. There's a good chance that much of the national TV audience watching at home, however, was not.

Those tuning in got to witness the full Ty Jerome experience on Sunday. A ho-hum, 28-point barrage, accompanied by the usual on-court sideshow from his on-court persona.

"He's just got supreme confidence in himself, and he's got swagger right," said Atkinson. And then he's got the IQ, super high IQ.

That swagger gives the Cavs an edge. One that will fuel them throughout this playoff run.

"At first [the team] was kind of like 'who does this guy think he is?' said Atkinson. "Now it's almost become like a running joke amongst the team, in a good way. Good spirit. Usually, role players off the bench don't have that, but we need that."

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