Even without one of their stars and without much help from their biggest name, the Cleveland Cavaliers bulldozed their way to the brink of the second round Saturday afternoon.
The Cavaliers dominated the Miami Heat 124-87 in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series, taking a commanding 3-0 lead. They did it despite Darius Garland being sidelined in street clothes with a sprained toe and Donovan Mitchell struggling through a rough shooting day, hitting just 4 of 14 shots for 13 points.
It didn’t matter. Jarrett Allen led Cleveland with 22 points, De’Andre Hunter chipped in 21, and the Cavs ran Miami off their home floor with relentless physicality and overwhelming depth. Cleveland outscored the Heat 60-30 in the paint and crushed them on the boards, 46-29.
Evan Mobley added 19 points, Max Strus scored 18, and Ty Jerome came off the bench with a stunning 13 points and 11 assists in just 22 minutes — finishing a team-best plus-33 for the game.
The Cavaliers’ 37-point win marked Miami’s worst playoff loss in franchise history, surpassing the previous mark set in Game 3 of the 2013 NBA Finals against San Antonio. That Heat team went on to win a championship. This one looks like it’ll be lucky to survive Monday.
It was the 11th time in Cavaliers franchise history they’ve taken a 3-0 lead in a series — the previous 10 all happened during the LeBron James eras, each resulting in 4-0 sweeps. Cleveland will look to add a new chapter to that tradition when they try to close out the series in Game 4 on Monday in Miami.
For the Heat, it was an afternoon of frustration and missed opportunities. Bam Adebayo scored 22 points and Davion Mitchell added 16, but the Heat couldn’t sustain anything after a fast start. Miami led 15-6 early, but Cleveland responded with a monstrous 33-5 run that flipped the game completely.
The Cavaliers shot 13-for-17 during that eight-minute onslaught, hitting eight straight shots at one point and burying five consecutive three-pointers over a stretch of just over two minutes. What had been a promising start for the Heat turned into a 39-20 deficit in a blink.
Cleveland took a 62-42 lead into halftime and, despite missing their first eight shots of the second half, Miami couldn’t capitalize. The Heat managed just four points during that cold stretch and never seriously threatened again. By the start of the fourth quarter, the Cavs had built an insurmountable 88-64 lead.
Now, history is firmly on Cleveland’s side. Teams that have taken a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven NBA playoff series are 158-0 — with Oklahoma City’s sweep of Memphis earlier Saturday being the latest example.
Unless Miami can pull off a miracle comeback that’s never been done before, the Cavaliers are heading to Round 2 — and they’re doing it with a level of force few saw coming.
