The Cleveland Cavaliers dropped their second consecutive and seventh game overall, this one to the Miami Heat by a final score of 108-97 to drop their record to 4-and-7 on the season.
It looked like the Cleveland Cavaliers were not made aware of the earlier start time for their matchup against the Miami Heat. It also appeared that the Cavs were returning to Cleveland after a multiple game road-trip, which they were.
Miami bludgeoned them early and that leads us right into reason number one why they lost to the Heat.
Reason #1 – slow start
The Cavaliers got off to an absolutely putrid start tonight against the Heat. It looked like they had no energy on either end of the floor like they were playing this game in Miami and spent a night out on the town, as often happens down there, instead of in Cleveland.
The Miami Heat outscored the Cavaliers in both the first and second quarters by a score of 34-to-22 and led at the break by a score of 68-44.
The Cavaliers worked hard to get back into this game in the second half and cut the lead from what proved to be an insurmountable 27 points, to 10, midway through the fourth quarter.
At that time, the Cavaliers looked to have some juice, especially on the defensive end and they had held Miami to just four points at the midway point of the fourth quarter. It was clear the run gassed them and Miami regained control before eventually finishing it off.
It was awesome to see the young Cavaliers’ team continue to fight and scrap to try to get back into this one, but they have to avoid poor starts, especially ones that are caused by poor energy, and especially against good teams.