MIAMI: Ninety minutes before tipoff Saturday night, Tyronn Lue announced he was starting Timofey Mozgov at center against the Miami Heat’s small ball lineup. By the time the official lineup sheets were distributed 45 minutes later, Lue had changed his mind.
Mozgov was out, Iman Shumpert was in. The Cavaliers may have matched the Heat’s small lineup in stature, but they sure didn’t match their energy and intensity. Nor could they match the Heat’s incredible shot-making and rebounding.
The Heat blitzed the Cavs from the start and led by as many as 31 on their way to an easy 122-101 victory at AmericanAirlines Arena, the Cavs’ 11th consecutive defeat in this building. They couldn’t beat LeBron James when he was here and now James can’t beat his former team in his old building.
That could be cause for concern in the postseason, when the Heat could serve as a viable second-round opponent for a Cavs team that can outclass most everyone in the East. Their lead over the idle Toronto Raptors, however, is down to 1½ games for the best record in the East.
Dwyane Wade scored 24 points in three quarters on one of his best nights of the season, and the Heat shot a staggering 61 percent through three quarters, and yet still managed to outrebound the Cavs. The Heat, who led from start to finish, held a 98-70 lead after three quarters, so both sides sat most of their starters for the fourth.
The Heat missed just 24 shots through three quarters and still managed to grab 10 offensive rebounds.
The Heat have reshaped their identity in the wake of Chris Bosh’s blood clots, which in all likelihood have again ended his season prematurely. They play small and fast now, with Luol Deng at power forward and veteran Amar’e Stoudemire at center.
Lue clearly wanted to stick with Mozgov, but changed his mind and reverted to a lineup that dazzled in blitzing the Washington Wizards in a 25-point home victory earlier this month. This time, while playing their fifth game in seven nights, the Cavs couldn’t keep pace.
Lue even tried an ultra-small lineup in the second quarter, using four guards and James at center. None of it mattered. The Cavs couldn’t keep up with the Heat and couldn’t keep them off the glass.
James scored 26 points and Kyrie Irving scored 14 for the Cavs, while Kevin Love’s struggles in this building continued. Love had seven points, three fouls and one rebound in 16 fairly unproductive minutes playing primarily at center.
Love underwhelmed with five points and eight rebounds on 2-of-11 shooting in the first game here this season, when James was resting and Irving was injured. All three of the Cavs stars sat out the fourth quarter Saturday. The Cavs return home to host the Denver Nuggets on Monday
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.