Miami Heat at Cleveland Cavaliers
· National Basketball Association
Cavaliers hold off Heat 112-107 to extend winning streak to 12 and clinch playoff spot
With the win, the Cavs became the first team to clinch a playoff berth.
It wasn't easy as the Heat, who were missing several rotational players, led 107-106 with 2:55 left. But Miami didn't score again and Duncan Robinson's apparent tying 3-pointer with 17.4 seconds left was waved off because he stepped out of bounds.
Bam Adebayo scored a season-high 34 points for Miami, which was without leading scorer Tyler Herro.
The Heat were already missing Jaime Jaquez Jr. (ankle sprain), Nikola Jovic (broken hand), Kel’el Ware (knee sprain) and Andrew Wiggins (ankle sprain) before Herro came down with a head cold in the past 24 hours.
Evan Mobley and De'Andre Hunter added 16 points apiece for Cleveland.
Cavaliers: Cleveland's execution was poor down the stretch. Mitchell had two turnovers in the final two minutes.
Regular Season Series
CLE wins series 2-1
Recent Plays
| 4th 0.0 |  |
End of Game | 107 - 112 |
| 4th 0.0 | |
End of the 4th Quarter | 107 - 112 |
| 4th 2.1 |  |
Donovan Mitchell defensive rebound | 107 - 112 |
| 4th 5.1 |  |
Duncan Robinson misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot | 107 - 112 |
| 4th 12.1 | |
Darius Garland makes free throw 2 of 2 | 107 - 112 |
Statistics
 MIA |
 CLE |
|
|---|---|---|
| 36-83 | FG | 41-87 |
| 43 | Field Goal % | 47 |
| 13-36 | 3PT | 14-40 |
| 36 | Three Point % | 35 |
| 22-25 | FT | 16-22 |
| 88 | Free Throw % | 73 |
| 42 | Rebounds | 47 |
| 9 | Offensive Rebounds | 10 |
| 33 | Defensive Rebounds | 37 |
| 29 | Assists | 26 |
| 7 | Steals | 7 |
| 2 | Blocks | 4 |
| 13 | Turnovers | 13 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 14 | Total Turnovers | 13 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 20 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 16 |
| 13 | Fast Break Points | 18 |
| 40 | Points in Paint | 54 |
| 19 | Fouls | 19 |
| 7 | Largest Lead | 17 |
Cleveland Cavaliers Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Larry Nance Jr., F | Out | Dec 21 |
| Max Strus, G | Out | Dec 21 |
Miami Heat Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Pelle Larsson, G | Out | Dec 25 |
| Nikola Jovic, F | Out | Dec 25 |
| Keshad Johnson, F | Day-To-Day | Dec 25 |
| Tyler Herro, G | Out | Dec 25 |
| Bam Adebayo, C | Day-To-Day | Dec 25 |
Game Information
Location: Cleveland, OH
Attendance: 19,432 · Capacity:
2025-26 Southeast Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Orlando |
17 | 13 | .567 | - | W1 |
 Miami |
15 | 15 | .500 | 2 | L3 |
 Atlanta |
15 | 16 | .484 | 2.5 | L4 |
 Charlotte |
10 | 20 | .333 | 7 | W1 |
 Washington |
5 | 23 | .179 | 11 | L2 |
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