Cavs notes: Dean Wade gets warm welcome from fans

CLEVELAND — It was a first for Cavaliers forward Dean Wade. After he entered Game 3, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse erupted. "I never got a standing ovation before," Wade said. "That was kind of cool." Seconds later, he buried a 3-pointer. "I thought I had left it short but luckily it went in," Wade said. "The place went crazy." The 6-foot-10, 219-pounder had five points, three rebounds, three assists and a block in 16 minutes. Wade said he felt a bit "winded" in the game after not playing for almost two months. He had missed the last 19 regular-season games and nine playoff games for personal reasons and a strained right knee. Wade said his knee is a "little sore" and he hasn't completely ruled out offseason surgery. He said there are "a couple tears" in the knee. "I have to give all the credit to the training staff," he said. "I pushed myself as hard as I could to get back. "We'll see what happens after the season. We had options and we took this one. I didn't want to let these guys down. I thought I could bring a lot of energy to the team." Small ball Bickerstaff intends to play more of the small lineup he used in Game 3 with Evan Mobley at center surrounded by four guards. "It worked pretty well for us," Cavs guard Darius Garland said. "We have to keep the ball moving." Bickerstaff said the Cavs had some success with the small lineup, even though it "ran out of steam." "They found a way to take advantage of it," he said. J.A. still out When center Jarrett Allen was originally injured, Bickerstaff said he had no idea how long he'd be out of the lineup. Allen had an MRI on his bruised ribs. "He wants to be on the floor," the coach said. "Obviously, he wants to play." Step short Bickerstaff said the Cavs were a "step short" closing on Boston's 3-point shooters in Game 3. "They are hunting those threes," he said. LeVert said the Celtics were "running the point guard into the pick-and-roll more, which was causing more (problems)." 20th pick The Atlanta Hawks will have the first overall pick in NBA Draft, which will be Wednesday, June 26. The second round will be the next day. The Cavs have the 20th overall pick and don't have a second-round selection. Their last first-rounder was in 2022, when they selected Kansas swingman Ochai Agbaji at No. 14 overall. He never played a regular-season game for the Cavs and was part of the Donovan Mitchell trade to Utah. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com.