Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell thought he had already taken one of the wildest games of the season to another level by hitting a corner 3 to tie the game 138-138 with 0.4 seconds left in the first overtime.
Then a brilliant play design by Heat assistant Chris Quinn — one Erik Spoelstra has been waiting to use — set up Andrew Wiggins to end it with an alley-oop.
It may not have made up for Cleveland sweeping Miami in the playoffs last season, but the Heat will take the 140-138 win.
“That’s a chess game. Chess match. You’ve got to give them credit,” Mitchell said (via the Associated Press). “They made an excellent read, an excellent call and you learn from these things.”
Norman Powell once again led the Heat with 33 points, while Jaime Jaquez Jr. continued his hot start with 22 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists off the bench. Wiggins’ dunk gave him 23 points on the night, and that dunk was only the 28th shot in the restricted area on the night by both teams out of 218 total shots. This game was a jump shooter’s delight.
Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 28 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, while De’Andre Hunter added 23, and Evan Robles scored 21 points with 10 boards. Calvaliers coach Kenny Atkinson got ejected in the third quarter, arguing with officials when the Heat got 21 free throw attempts in the frame to the Cavs’ four.
