CLEVELAND — The shorthanded, beat-up Cavaliers couldn't keep up their recent pace in a matchup against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night in a 107-104 loss.
Despite being without 60 percent of their starting lineup, the Cavs still have the second-best record in the league since Jan. 3 at 25-11, including a win over the Indiana Pacers a few days ago.
Donovan Mitchell remains out after he had his nose broken by teammate Tristan Thompson . The Cavs have in part been on such a hot streak thanks to center Jarrett Allen , who might have an argument that he's been top-10 NBA player this season.
The Heat were also banged up, with Bam Adebayo expected to be out. Jimmy Butler ended up playing and scored a game-high 30 points.
Check back here for updates and analysis throughout the game.
Terry Rozier hit two free throws, giving the Cavs 2.8 seconds left to try to tie.
A long inbounds pass found Jarrett Allen, who gave it to Darius Garland . His off-balance 3-point attempt at the buzzer didn't fall.
Jarrett Allen finished with 25 points and 20 rebounds. Darius Garland had 20 points and nine assists.
The Cavs have trimmed the lead to one point, but it might have taken too long to do so.
Caris LeVert couldn't break free, dribbled down the baseline and found Georges Niang , who had a layup fall, but the play took more than 10 seconds. The Cavs will have to foul, and they'll have very little time to get a shot off after that.
Tied 100-100, Jimmy Butler hit a fadeaway with under a minute left. The Cavs answered, with Darius Garland finding Jarrett Allen for a score-tying dunk, setting up at least one possession for each side.
Terry Rozier put the Heat up with a 3-pointer with 14.5 seconds left, giving Miami a 105-102 advantage. It'll be Cavs ball with a chance to tie it, or cut the lead and then foul.
The Cavs are on top again in what is another comeback attempt at home.
After trailing by double digits, the Cavs made it a one-point game, and Georges Niang just put Cleveland on top with a floater and-1, making it 96-94 with just over four minutes to go.
The Cavs' offense has found its rhythm and come alive a bit. Darius Garland's presence has seemingly opened things up quite a bit, even if he's had an inefficient night shooting the ball. He's also come up with a few key plays and created some space for others.
Jarrett Allen also now has a 20-20 night with 23 points and 20 rebounds. Statistically, he's genuinely been one of the top 10 players in the NBA this season. It's the fifth 20-20 game of Allen's career.
This fourth quarter has been an ugly one for the Cavs, full of turnovers and some clunky ball movement.
But they also just went on a run with a string of 3s, the last by Georges Niang, and have somehow slashed that Heat lead to one point, 92-91, with 5:53 to go.
It's a reminder of what the Cavs discovered during their first run without a few starters, when their backs were against the wall and they leaned into an offense based on more movement and 3-point shooting. If they're hitting, they can keep up, with with the losses of Mitchell, Mobley and Strus .
The Cavs have had trouble keeping up with the Heat, in part due to the loss of firepower in the starting lineup and in part due to a series of unforced errors.
Jarrett Allen is having a superb night. He's got 19 points and 14 rebounds on 9-for-11 shooting from the floor. Outside of Allen, it's been generally rough sledding.
Darius Garland has 14 points, but those 14 points are now on 5-for-14 shooting. Overall, the Cavs are shooting just 46 percent from the floor and 35 percent from 3-point range. It's something they have, and will, run into with Donovan Mitchell , Evan Mobley and Max Strus all out.
The Cavs have also had a number of, well, ill-advised turnovers, to say the least. They've thrown it away twice simply trying to in-bound the ball and get across halfcourt. Tristan Thompson just grabbed a rebound while stepping out-of-bounds. And Sam Merrill a few moments ago tried to swing the ball into the corner — only, nobody was there.
The Cavs briefly secured their first lead of the second half, but the Heat answered with a run of their own, extending the lead out to 76-70.
The Cavs got most of that back in one swoop. Darius Garland was found with some space at the elbow and nailed a 3-pointer while being fouled and knocked to the ground. Garland also made the ensuing free throw, cutting the Miami lead to 76-74.
Garland now has 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting tonight.
That first half had plenty of frustration for the Cavs' sideline, some of it directed toward the ref and some toward their own defense.
Heat guard Terry Rozier was called for a foul late in the second half, which garnered a sarcastic cheer from the home crowd after a string of fouls were called on Cleveland. Tristan Thompson, on the bench at the time of the foul call, stood up and sarcastically clapped his hands a few times.
The Cavs went on a positive run at the end of the half, cutting the Heat's double-digit lead down to four points, 61-57.
Jarrett Allen (of course) already has a double-double with a team-high points and 10 rebounds. Caris LeVert has been active for the Cavs tonight with 12 points, three rebounds and four assists through the first half.
But defensively, the Cavs have had zero answer for Jimmy Butler, who has poured in a game-high 20 points. Isaac Okoro has had his hands full with the defensive assignment.
As of this typing, Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is near midcourt, screaming at any ref that will listen. It took him about two seconds to receive a technical foul, and assistant coaches are trying to stand between him and any ref near him.
Bickerstaff is upset over a non-call on Tristan Thompson, who went up for a shot and was knocked to the floor but didn't receive a foul call. That led to a fastbreak for the Heat, who extended their lead to 48-39 with 6:25 left in the first half.
Thompson and Bickerstaff are not happy. Thompson is still, on the bench following a timeout, pleading his case and going through the motions of his view of the play.
Marcus Morris St. found Sam Merrill, who buried a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the first quarter to cut the Heat lead to 31-30.
Merrill has given the Cavs a significant boost as a 3-point threat since making the jump from the G League. He's knocked down both his 3-point attempts tonight. Isaac Okoro has a team-high seven points for the shorthanded Cavs.
Jimmy Butler, who is in fact playing tonight, also has seven points for the Heat.
Marcus Morris Sr., r ecently signed to a 10-day contract , checked into his first game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse as a member of the Cavs, and received a nice ovation.
Due to the Cavs' extensive injury situation, Morris has immediately been thrown into the mix, checking into the game in the first quarter. Morris logged nearly 20 minutes in his Cavs debut in Indiana.
Below is some pregame information.
The Cavs and Heat are playing the third of fourth meeting this season. The Cavs beat the Heat 11-99 in their last matchup, just the second double-digit win over Miami in the last 20 years.
The Cavs enter Wednesday night 25-10 over their last 35 games since Jan 3, the second-best record in the NBA over that span.
The Cavaliers will be without Donovan Michell, who had his nose broken by Tristan Thompson over the weekend. Mitchell will be out at least the next few games before being reevaluated next week.
The Cavs are also still without Evan Mobley (ankle sprain) and Max Strus (knee strain) in addition to Dean Wade (knee sprain) and Ty Jerome (ankle surgery).
The Heat have a few key questionable tags entering Wednesday night's game, including Jimmy Butler (bruised foot) and Bam Adebayo (bruised back). Butler is expected to play, while Abedayo is expected to be unavailable.
The Heat will be without Tyler Herro (right foot injury) Kevin Love (bruised heel), Duncan Robinson (back discomfort) and Josh Richardson (right shoulder surgery). Caleb Martin is expected to be available with a sprained thumb.
The Heat-Cavs game will be televised on WUAB CW 43. The matchup will be broadcast on the radio via WTAM (1100-AM), WMMS (100.7-FM) and WNZN (89.1-FM).
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs vs Heat live game score and updates, Donovan Mitchell out
