Cavaliers fall to Heat 107-104

In a gritty game, the Cavs fell just short to the Heat.

Final: Miami Heat 107, Cleveland Cavaliers 104.

Nightly Notables

Jarrett Allen led the Cavs with 25 points and 20 rebounds on 10-13 shooting. Darius Garland added 20 points (15 of which came from three) and 9 assists and just one turnover. Georges Niang (18 points), Caris LeVert (16 points) and Sam Merrill (12 points) also finished in double figures.

Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 30 points and Terry Rozier (more on him in a minute) had 24.

Well, that happened...

One decision and one play decided this game. Both involved Rozier.

The decision by Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to challenge a foul call on Isaac Okoro that resulted in a four-point play for the Heat on a Rozier three. Bickerstaff challenged the foul to, in theory, prevent the four-point play and allow the Cavs to keep the lead. But tht call was swiftly upheld and the Cavs lost a timeout. When the Cavs were down three with seconds to go and had to go the full length of the court, that timeout would have come in handy.

The play was a Rozier make over Okoro. It was well-defended, but a better make by someone with a history of scoring buckets in big moments against the Cavs. This is what this guy seems to do every time he plays the Cavs.

Big Picture

On the positive side, the Cavs played a physical game against a physical team and were close to winning despite trailing by as many as 11 points overall and by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter. In that view, the Cavs again showed toughness that reflects well on what this group is all about.

Also of note: The Giannis-less Bucks, at the time of publication, are on the verge of losing to Boston Celtics. That means this loss doesn’t put the Cavs any further back of the No. 2 seed.

That said: This is a hard loss. On top of the moments highlighted above, they also couldn’t get off a three on their second-to-last possession and had to settle for a Niang layup before playing the free throw game. The execution just wasn’t where it needed to be for the Cavs to get the win.

Up next: The Cavs head back on the road to play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. Tipoff is at 8 p.m.