During the Friday night NBA slate, the Miami Heat rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to win 119-115 over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jimmy Butler scored 12 of his 33 points in the final 5:11. Tyler Herro chipped in 25 points for the Heat.
The final minutes of the game were perfect for Butler. Besides scoring and rebounding, he also knew to properly execute the foul game.
“There’s a lot at stake,” Herro said. “Every game counts for us.”
A 42-point performance by Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland, which got 16 points each from Isaac Okoro and Caris LeVert. For the Cavaliers, Evan Mobley added 12 points.
It was a 120-119 victory for Philadelphia over Portland on Friday that separated Cleveland (42-27) from Philadelphia (44-22) for third place in the Eastern Conference. As a result, Miami (38-32), ranked seventh in the East, moved further away from No. 6 Brooklyn (38-29), which defeated Minnesota.
“We’re fighting for our competitive lives right now,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Is this the exact position we want to be in? No. But you do have to embrace the competition. When you’re dreaming about things in the middle of the summer, this is what you want, games with incredible pressure and context.”
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat, Donovan Mitchell & Cleveland Cavaliers Updates
The Heat split a two-game home series with the Cavaliers, with Bam Adebayo scoring 19 points and Max Strus adding 14.
“We let them get to their spots too easily. … But I thought it was a heck of a game,” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.
The fourth quarter saw Miami defeat Cleveland 37-26. The Heat were able to stay ahead with Butler returning to the game halfway through the final period.
“That’s why he’s Jimmy Butler,” Bickerstaff said.
Mobley’s dunk with 38.3 seconds left cut the Cavaliers’ lead to one when Miami committed fouls on illegal screens two possessions in a row.
A Butler foul helped Miami finish the game off, and the Cavs never got the lead back. Cleveland couldn’t get a look at a potentially game-tying 3-point shot with 5.6 seconds left after Butler fouled Mitchell at midcourt.
The first shot was made by Mitchell, while the second was intentionally missed. As he did against Chicago on Jan. 2, on his way to what turned out to be his 71-point game, he ran down an intentionally missed foul shot and scored. Two free throws iced the game, Butler controlled the rebound, and the Heat knew it was coming.
“Donovan Mitchell missed that free throw about as perfectly as you could,” Spoelstra said.
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat, Donovan Mitchell & Cleveland Cavaliers Updates
During Wednesday’s win over Miami, Darius Garland suffered a right quadricep contusion. Currently, he is day-to-day. The left knee soreness that plagued Kyle Lowry for the past 15 consecutive games has forced him to miss another game.
During a rebound attempt with 3:53 left, Jarrett Allen was inadvertently poked in the eye by Adebayo. Allen left the game after the play was ruled a common foul.
After making only three of 10 three-pointers in the first half, Miami made 11 of 19 in the second half. In this season’s first half, Miami has come back to win six games after trailing by at least 14 points.
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat, Donovan Mitchell & Cleveland Cavaliers Updates
For the third time this season, Mitchell scored 25+ points in the first half. It was tied for his second-highest scoring opening half of the season as he had 27 against the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 14. Even when he had 71 points, he had 16 in the first half.
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