The Cavaliers earned their 12th-consecutive victory this Wednesday night but it wasn’t easy for them, as the Heat put up a fight. Nevertheless, Donovan Mitchell’s 26 points combined with Darius Garland’s 10 assists were enough to win 112-107 and become the first team to earn a playoff berth this campaign.
Cleveland only needed 62 games to qualify for a playoff berth, which is still second only to the club’s record for an 82-game season of 60 matches, which was set by the 2008-09 Cavs. They also became the second squad in league history to post three 12-game winning streaks in a single season.
“It’s special. This is really special,” coach Kenny Atkinson said after the game against a banged-up Miami, who couldn’t count on most of their players due to injury. “We know what we’re going to be judged on but we have to enjoy a season like this.”
With 2:55 left until the final buzzer, the Heat led 107-106, but somehow weren’t able to score again last night. Duncan Robinson even dropped tying 3-pointer with 17.4 seconds left, but it was eventually waved off because he stepped out of bounds.
Miami, who was already missing Jaime Jaquez Jr. (ankle sprain), Nikola Jovic (broken hand), Kel’el Ware (knee sprain) and Andrew Wiggins (ankle sprain) and Tyler Herro (sickness), witnessed Bam Adebayo take on a leading-offensive role, and scored a season-high 43 points last night.
Even though last week the Cavs hadn’t secured their playoff berth, the team’s head coach had assured that they’re not waiting to start the preparation for the postseason. According to Atkinson, their concentration and work for the postseason had already begun.
“I think we’re safeguarding against that. I’ve been part of a team, you know, that Hawks team I was with, we had a huge lead. I think more than we have now. We didn’t take our foot off the gas, but we started resting guys a lot. We really tried to almost over-strategize it,” the Cavs coach explained last week.
According to NBA sportsbooks, they are now third-favorites to clinch only a second every franchise title, nine years after the first.
