CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers won their 12th consecutive game, 112-107 over the Miami Heat Wednesday night at Rocket Arena to clinch a spot in the NBA playoffs.
The Cavs (52-10) are winners of 16 of their last 17 games as they begin their playoff prep. The Cavs trailed in the fourth quarter but rallied in the final minute.
The Heat (29-32) entered as the No. 7 seed in the East and are one of several teams that could end up in the play-in tournament, making Wednesday night’s nationally televised game a potential first-round preview for the playoffs.
Here’s how Wednesday’s game unfolded.
Cavs beat Miami Heat, clinch playoff spot in NBA playoffs
The Cavs have won it 112-107, and that will clinch at least a top-six seed in the NBA playoffs.
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Donovan Mitchell finished with a team-high 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Evan Mobley had a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
For the Heat, Bam Adebayo had a game-high 34 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
Duncan Robinson has 3 wiped out in final minute
Duncan Robinson appeared to have hit a score-tying 3, but the refs had blown a whistle nobody heard due to the crowd noise, and determined that Robinson had stepped out of bounds just before the shot, taking it off the board.
Darius Garland was then fouled and made both free throws, making it 111-107 with 12.7 seconds left.
Cavs, Heat score: Cleveland has 3-point lead in final minute; Miami has the ball
With just under 30 seconds left, Bam Adebayo somehow just lost the ball, but the Heat got it back when Donovan Mitchell lost it while dribbling on the other end.
The Heat have the ball while down 110-107 with 18.4 seconds left.
Cavs lead Heat by 1 with 2 minutes left in fourth quarter
Max Strus hit a 3, Darius Garland then found Donovan Mitchell with a cross-court pass that led to another 3 and Evan Mobley had an easy dunk, and the Cavs have a 108-107 lead with two minutes to go.
Cavs make it 2-point game late in fourth quarter; Cavaliers, Heat score update
Evan Mobley found space in the paint for a dunk and Max Strus buried a 3 against his former teammates, and the Cavs have made it a 102-100 score with 4:37 left in the fourth quarter.
Heat take lead over Cavs in fourth quarter
The Cavs offense has gone ice cold, and the Heat have used the dry spell to open up a 100-93 lead with 6:11 left in the fourth quarter.
The Cavs are just 3 of 8 from the floor to start the fourth, while the Heat have made 5 of 7 en route to an 18-7 run.
Cavs lead Miami Heat entering fourth quarter
Sam Merrill buried a 3 before the Cavs scored back-to-back transition buckets — a Donovan Mitchell 3, a De’Andre Hunter layup — and the Cavaliers will enter the fourth quarter holding an 86-82 lead.
De’Andre Hunter also had a big block at the end of the quarter.
Cavs, Heat score update: Miami comes back to tie it in third quarter
The Cavs’ 17-point lead has now been erased. Kevin Love hit a 3 and then, after a miss and an offensive rebound, found Davion Mitchell in the corner for a 3-pointer, and the Heat have tied the Cavs 71-71 with eight minutes to go in the third quarter.
Love is up to nine points and six rebounds tonight.
Heat end second quarter on 13-1 run to close gap on Cavs
The Cavs were cruising for a bit — up 17 at one point — but much of that lead evaporated behind a 13-1 Miami run to close the second quarter. The Cavs enter halftime up 63-59.
Terry Rozier and Bam Adebayo led the way during that run. They now have 10 and 16 points, respectively.
The Cavs’ offense has largely been run through Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley, who have 13 and 12 points respectively.
Much of the first half was Rozier/Adebayo vs. Mitchell/Mobley.
Cavs open up 15-point lead over Heat in second quarter
The Cavs are starting to extend their lead in the second quarter, now up 58-43 with 3:35 left before the half.
The Heat are shooting just 42 percent from the floor and haven’t had the firepower to keep up with the Cavs offense. Donovan Mitchell continues to lead the way tonight with 12 points and four assists. Evan Mobley is up to 10 points and seven rebounds.
Cavs, Heat score update: Cleveland leads Miami after first quarter
The Cavs will take a 36-32 lead into the second quarter.
Donovan Mitchell is getting into the paint with relative ease. At one point he head back-to-back layups and then, after creating some space, found Sam Merrill for an open 3. Mitchell has eight points, two rebounds and three assists after the first quarter.
Evan Mobley has eight points and four rebounds.
Cavs pay tribute to Kevin Love in his return to Cleveland; See the video
During a timeout break in the first quarter, the Cavs played a video tribute to Kevin Love and his time in Cleveland on the jumbotron, including highlights from the Cavaliers’ Game 7 win in the 2016 NBA Finals.
Love received a standing ovation from the Cleveland crowd. As he waved to acknowledge the crowd, he also pointed to his ring finger, symbolizing the title the Cavs won that broke a 52-year drought in the city.
Cavs, Heat score: Cavaliers build early lead in Kevin Love’s return to Cleveland
The Cavs are off to a solid start, up 18-14 over the Heat midway through the first quarter.
Darius Garaldn has six points and an assist early on. Evan Mobley has five points and three assists.
Kevin Love, in his first game back in Cleveland, has two points on 1-for-3 shooting thus far.
Below is some pregame information.
Cavs injury report vs Heat
The Cavs provided no injury report news prior to the game.
Heat injury report vs Cavs; Is Tyler Herro playing?
The Heat added Tyler Herro to their injury report with a head cold, and he has now been ruled out for Wednesday’s game.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (ankle), Nikola Jovic (hand), Dru Smith (achilles), Kel’el Ware (knee) and Andrew Wiggins (ankle) have all been ruled out. Davion Mitchell (quad) is questionable.
Cleveland Cavaliers broadcast information; how can I watch, stream or listen to the Cavs-Heat game?
Wednesday’s game can be watched nationally on ESPN and locally on the FanDuel Sports Network. It can be heard on the radio via WMMS (100.7-FM) and WTAM (1100-AM).
