Cavaliers Fire Off Record Threes, Survive Heat Rally for 2-0 Series Edge

Donovan Mitchell put on a show for the home crowd, dropping 30 points—17 of them in a wild fourth quarter—to drag the Cleveland Cavaliers across the finish line in a nail-biter, 121-112 victory over the Miami Heat Wednesday night. With that, Cleveland snags a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series, and if anyone in Ohio had doubts about Mitchell, well, those have probably evaporated faster than a Heat timeout.

The Cavaliers didn’t just win; they lit up the court with an NBA playoff record 11 three-pointers in the second quarter alone, finishing with 22 triples for the game. For a minute, it looked like Cleveland was going to coast, but Miami clearly didn’t get the memo. The Heat, led by Tyler Herro’s 33-point effort, clawed back from a 19-point hole, turning what looked like a blowout into a late-game thriller.

Cleveland’s comfy lead evaporated to just two points at 105-103 with a little over three minutes left. That’s when Mitchell decided to take over—dropping eight straight points, including a couple of icy threes, to put the game to bed. Alongside him, Evan Mobley added 20 points and Darius Garland put up 19, proving once again that the Cavs have more than one trick up their sleeve.

The game started with Miami up 16-7, but the Cavaliers quickly flipped the script, ending the first quarter on top, 25-24. The second quarter was a blizzard of threes, with Max Strus and Sam Merrill each raining in two during a pivotal 17-4 run that left the Heat scrambling.

By late in the third, a De'Andre Hunter dunk had Cleveland ahead by 19. Miami, though, responded with a 25-8 surge—Davion Mitchell pouring in 12 of his 18 during the rally—cutting it dangerously close before Cleveland finally slammed the door.

Now, the series heads to Miami for Game 3 on Saturday afternoon. The Heat will have home court—and maybe a little more Heat than they bargained for.