Cavs' rally comes up short in loss to Heat

CLEVELAND — Given up for dead at halftime, the Cavaliers stormed back to take the lead in the fourth quarter. However, they stumbled in the final period of a 120-103 defeat to the Miami Heat Wednesday at Rocket Arena. Shorthanded Cleveland (45-28) had its four-game winning streak snapped. The Cavs will get another crack at the Heat at home Friday. The night started on the wrong note when starting forward Dean Wade was a late scratch when he sprained his right ankle after stepping on a ball boy's foot after a layup. He had just returned to the lineup after missing four games with the same injury. "It was unfortunate and unlucky," Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. Cleveland's lineup was already ravaged by playing without starting center Jarrett Allen, who has missed the previous 10 games with tendinitis in his right knee. There's a chance he'll return for the Miami game Friday. Valuable swingman Max Strus was held out of the contest due to injury management, while second-year man Jaylon Tyson was sidelined with a bone bruise in his left big toe and point guard Craig Porter Jr. was out with a strained left groin. That left the Cavs extremely shorthanded, especially in the frontcourt. Miami (39-34) came to town riding a five-game losing streak and had plummeted to 10th in the crowded Eastern Conference playoff race. The Heat, however, jumped all over Cleveland in the first half and built what seemed to be an insurmountable 21-point lead. The Cavs staged an exhilarating rally in the third quarter and outscored Miami 37-20 to knot the score at 83 heading into the final period. Guard Donovan Mitchell had 13 of his game-high 28 points in the quarter. Cleveland took a short-lived lead in the fourth before Miami took over. The Heat outscored the Cavs 37-20 in the final period. "We put up a good fight," Cleveland swingman Sam Merrill said. "We got ourselves back in the game." The Cavs credited the Heat's zone defense for disrupting them in the first half, which ended with Miami on top 63-46. "They have a unique style," Merrill said. "They were mixing their zone and different defenses. It took us a while to figure it out." Cleveland's defense was much better than it was on Tuesday against Orlando. "We have nine games left (in the regular season)," Merrill said. "That's going to be our entire focus to get where we need to be in the playoffs." Atkinson said he loved the Cavs' fight and resiliency. Even though forward/center Evan Mobley was a bit off on offense, his coach loved his defense on Heat big man Bam Adebayo, who erupted for a historic 83-point performance earlier in the season. Adebayo finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists but was held to 6-for-19 from the field. Mobley managed just eight points and five rebounds. Swingman Keon Ellis moved into the starting lineup to replace Wade and ended with 17 points. "He was part of our defensive activity and uptick," Atkinson said. "He was all over the place." Point guard James Harden contributed 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Merrill added 18 points. The Heat had eight players in double figures, led by Norman Powell's 19 points and Tyler Herro's 18. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.