Justise Winslow leads third-quarter surge to lift Heat to win over Cavaliers
What’s the most effective remedy for a team that’s lost six of its past nine games? A matchup against the team with the league’s worst record.
That’s exactly what the Heat (23-24) got Friday, and it took advantage with a 100-94 win over the Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland dropped to 9-41 this season, and has lost 18 of its past 19 games.
The win didn’t come easy for the Heat, which found itself trailing by eight points with 11:40 remaining in the third quarter. But Miami outscored Cleveland 32-14 over the rest of the period to enter the fourth with a 10-point lead.
Heat starting point guard Justise Winslow was critical to the surge, scoring 13 on 5-of-8 shooting in the third quarter. He finished with 27 points, one off his career-high, on 11-of-18 shooting to go with seven rebounds.
Miami led by as many as 18 points in the fourth, but Cleveland used a late run to pull within five in the final seconds. But the Cavaliers couldn’t complete the comeback.
Center Hassan Whiteside finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and forward Derrick Jones Jr. contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
The Cavaliers were led by forward Cedi Osman, who ended the night with a career-high 29 points.
With guard Dion Waiters unavailable due to a migraine, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra played a 10-man rotation that included Rodney McGruder and Kelly Olynyk. McGruder was a healthy scratch in Wednesday’s loss to the Clippers and Olynyk had played just four minutes over the previous three games.
The Heat closes its quick two-game trip with another matchup against one of the league’s worst, Sunday against the Knicks. New York entered Friday with the NBA’s second-worst record.
This story was originally published January 25, 2019 at 9:51 PM.
