Miami started the day seventh in the Eastern Conference and finished there as well, tied with Philadelphia at 39-32. The 76ers won against the Los Angeles Clippers earlier Sunday, but currently trail the Heat due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Evan Mobley scored 15 points for Cleveland (43-28), which lost for the seventh time in 10 games but remained No. 3 in the East, with a half-game lead over New York.
Terry Rozier and Thomas Bryant each scored 14 for Miami. It was Miami’s largest margin of victory of the season and Cleveland’s most lopsided loss; the previous entry in both cases was also a Heat-Cavs game, Miami’s 129-96 win in November.
Both teams were shorthanded on Sunday. Cleveland got Mobley back after a nine-game absence due to an ankle problem, but was again without Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus and Dean Wade. Miami played without Tyler Herro, Kevin Love, Duncan Robinson and Jaime Jaquez Jr.
The Heat, who ended a three-game home slide, got a layup from Rozier to end the first quarter with a 30-22 lead. Rozier did the same thing to end the second quarter, with that score pushing Miami’s margin to 60-39.
And in the third, it became a fugue. A 23-2 run in five minutes eventually pushed Miami’s lead to 86-46. Cleveland pulled all five starters just 3 1/2 minutes into the third and four of them — Isaac Okoro, Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Darius Garland — stayed there the rest of the way.
FOLLOWING
Cavaliers: Host Charlotte on Monday.
Heat: Host Golden State on Tuesday.
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