Game Grades: Cavs Comeback Win Over Heat

It's not how you start, it's about how you finish.

The Cleveland Cavaliers showed this to be the case on Friday night as they came back against the Miami Heat. Let's get into some Game Grades for this 111-99 victory.

Cavaliers Offense: B+

The first quarter was rough—no other way around it. Darius Garland was quickly benched with the three fouls and the offensive flow suffered because of it. Cleveland shot just 25% from the floor and scored 17 points.

However, the Cavs were resilient and didn't hang their heads, resulting in a strong second and third quarter in which they outscored the hear 71-50, setting up a wine and gold winner.

Donovan Mitchell led the way for the Cavs in the scoring department dropping 27 points. Cleveland's reserves scored 44 points off the bench when they needed them the most.

This balanced attack from the Cavalier offense, combined with a slightly stagnant start gives Cleveland a "B+" grade.

Cavaliers Defense: B+

There was a lot of good in Cleveland's defense on Friday night, but there was also some bad that needs to be addressed.

Starting with the positives, the Cavs did a good job of containing Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry who combined for 33 points while shooting 11-38 from the floor. The Cavs also forced 18 turnovers and were able to score 22 points off Miami miscues.

Okay, now to talk about some of the improvements for the future.

Mainly this comes from the three-point defense. Miami shot 40% from behind the arc in the first half and this was the reason that the Heat were able to climb out to such a large lead.

There was a lot of good from this game but allowing Miami to get out to a 16-point lead gives Cleveland a grade of "B+."

Overall: B+

The Cavs were down by 16 at one point in the second quarter and saw their lead climb up to 18 in the second half. That turnaround shows a lot of determination in this group that can't be understated.

Cleveland can't make it a routine to start slow and rely on large comebacks.

Putting that aside, this was a great win for the Cavs as they've now put together two back-to-back, solid wins against two solid teams.