CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Cavaliers came close to another miracle finish.
Darius Garland’s desperation three as time expired rattled the rim but fell off as the Miami Heat hung on for a 107-104 victory at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Here’s our top Wine & Gold Nuggets from Wednesday night.
Cavs killer – Terry Rozier, who starred at Shaker Heights high school, continues to haunt his hometown Cavs. Rozier’s 4-point play with 1:24 remaining wiped out the Cleveland’s 4-point advantage and tied the game at 100. Isaac Okoro was whistled for a foul on the play, which the Cavs challenged but lost after review. “It was great Defense by Isaac and great shot by Terry,” Garland, who finished with 20 points and nine assists, said. “That stuff happens to really good defenders. He's one of our best defenders. He guards when their top guys literally every night. So I mean we live with the results. I mean it was a really great shot, but it was good defense, but better offense.” Rozier hit another step back 3 with 14.5 left to give Miami a 105-102 lead and his free throws with 2.8 seconds remaining provided the final margin. Rozier finished with 24 points. “He made tough shots, give him credit,” Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “I think there was a couple of tough ones, obviously where time and score was important in understanding the three point shot and those types of things, but give him credit, he made plays.” Jimmy Butler led all scorers with 30 points for Miami in the win.
This is 20-20 – Jarrett Allen recorded his second 20-20 game of the season, fifth of his career and third with the Cavs. “He's been a tear all season,” Garland said. “Jay, he's always been a beast on the boards, even switching out to guards. I mean he just does everything for us. He's literally our centerpiece. Whenever he goes, we all go. He's our coach on the floor, especially defensively when he's talking, we're always talking. When he's loud, we're loud… He’s literally our heart and our soul, so we really appreciate him and I do for sure. I try to tell him this all the time, but I mean he doesn't even know how much he means to this team, but he means a lot to us.” Allen dominated inside by scoring 25 points and pulling down 20 rebounds for his 34th double-double of the season. “I know, I mean a lot to this team,” Allen said. “I feel I need to come out every night and play my hardest for them out there. Try to direct them on defense, get people open on offense. They might value me more than I know I'm worth, but I just try to do my job out there.”
Double coverage – Garland and Sam Merrill drew simultaneous double teams on the final play that saw Garland’s potential game tying shot bounce off the rim. “I think it's like respecting when they [are] sending two people at you or try to not let you get the ball,” Garland said. “I think it's respect and I'll take it to be honest with you because if they put two on me, I'm going to try to hit the open person and that just starts a whole reaction for our offense and that just puts their defense in a scramble. So nine times out of 10 we'll get a good shot at it, so put two on me, I'll give it to the open person and we just play from there.” Merrill has earned Bickerstaff’s trust late in games. “When we needed three obviously they feel like I can either make a shot if I get the chance or draw a defender away,” Merrill said. “So Coach ran a good set there when we were down three and they obviously carted it well, so George was able to get a layup and then DG had a good look to tie it there. I actually thought it was in from where I was at, so unfortunately it didn't go in.”
Point man – Caris LeVert tied his career-high with his sixth double-double of the season with 16 points, a game-high 12 assists, five rebounds and two steals in 37 minutes. LeVert finished with at least 12 assists for the second time this season and fifth time in his NBA career. LeVert has handed out at least seven assists in career-high eight straight games since March 6th. “I'm just trying to make good decisions with the basketball,” LeVert said. “I know that we're down, obviously Don [Donovan Mitchell], who's a big playmaker, but obviously Max [Strus] as well, who's a really good playmaker. So when I get it, I'm trying to make the right plays. I know where my teammates like the ball, so I'm just trying to get it on time, on target.”
Stretch time – The Cavs are a full game behind Milwaukee for the No. 2 seed and the Knicks are creeping up behind Cleveland. The schedule doesn’t get any easier down the stretch with so many playoff contenders remaining, but it could prove beneficial. “The playoffs are tough. We experienced it last year,” Allen said. “It's a mental grind and I think at this point in the season, everybody's going through the mental grind, especially us with our injuries, the schedule and just how tightly compact the games are right now and traveling. If you prepare for it, you don't [have] to get ready for it, if that makes sense. It doesn't, but you know where I'm going with that.”
T-d off – The Cavs got hit with three technical fouls in the second quarter. Darius Garland got the first for protesting a call. Then Bickerstaff was whistled after he called timeout and became furious because Triston Thompson appeared to be fouled at the rim with no call made. Georges Niang completed the trifecta for arguing after he got hit on the hand shotting a three, but again the refs swallowed their whistles.
Starting 5 – Bickerstaff went with Darius Garland, Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, Isaac Okoro and Jarrett Allen Wednesday night.
