Three takeaways from the Cavaliers overtime heartbreaker against the Heat

Heartbreak hit Cleveland as the Miami Heat stole a 140–138 overtime win on a game-winning lob to Andrew Wiggins.

Despite a slew of mistakes, the Cavaliers still had every chance to win, until their errors proved too costly.

Here are three takeaways from the disappointing showdown.

1. The Cavs have to be able to maintain hot starts

A common theme for the Cavaliers so far this season has been for them to start out the game building a quick lead, then watching it collapse before the quarter ends.

Once again, Cleveland looked dominant early as they took a 15-5 lead. From there, Miami got back in the game. Cleveland began looking sluggish, missing shots and allowing Jamie Jaquez, Nikola Jovic and the rest of the Heat to outhustle them.

By the early minutes of the second quarter, Miami had taken a lead. By the end of the half, Miami began to run away with it.

Cleveland has done some great things to begin games, coming into every contest looking sharp and prepared this year. They can’t let teams get back into it and build momentum by allowing a big run. More consistency is needed.

2. Silly mistakes in overtime cost the game

The Cavaliers worked so hard to make it to overtime, but it seemingly all just fell apart due to mistake after mistake for this team. The path wasn't easy as Darius Garland exited after reinjuring his toe.

Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley each missed crucial free throws that could have kept the game tied for overtime.

Then the Cavaliers had a long possession, overcoming a missed shot and a jump ball, but still couldn’t find an open shot.

Then Mitchell and Sam Merrill missed potential game-tying threes back-to-back with under 20 seconds left. Mitchell somehow managed to get a rebound and make a pass to Mobley, who drained the three. However, assistant coach Johnnie Bryant, who was filling in after Kenny Atkinson was ejected, called a timeout, negating the three.

Then Jaylon Tyson nearly cost the game by fouling Norman Powell on an inbound before the ball was thrown, giving the Heat a free throw and the ball back. Luckily Powell, who had been 11/11 until that point, missed it.

It was chaos, but despite all of this, Cleveland still had a chance to win it after Mitchell hit an insane three with .4 seconds left on the clock. .4 seconds too many.

The Heat drew up a beautiful play call, and Cleveland was unprepared. Andrew Wiggins shook off his defender De'Andre Hunter, took the lob and jammed it home to win the game at the buzzer.

Cleveland got outplayed and outcoached in overtime. This needs to be a learning experience in Cleveland, and something they can’t let happen again.

3. Sam Merrill is an X-Factor for this team

Entering the fourth quarter, it started to look like Cleveland was defeated. Norman Powell was taking over the game, and it was clear Miami had all the momentum in the world.

Then came Sam Merrill. He hit four straight treys, scoring 12 points in a row for Cleveland and tying the game right back up.

From then on, Cleveland had life. Merrill’s play inspired his teammates, helping them pull off the comeback.

Merrill cooled off after hitting those shots, but the rest of the Cavs were ready to fight. Mobley ended regulation with the hot hand. He blocked a shot and hit a no-hesitation three to give Cleveland a late lead before overtime.

Then in overtime, Merrill started the majority of the time. It wasn’t pretty for him or the rest of the team, missing several crucial threes and struggling on defense.

Merrill showed off what he can do for this team, now he needs to stay consistent, and do it in the biggest moments.