1 stud, 1 dud from Cavs stumbling loss Friday to Heat

Asking any NBA team to survive without an All-Star player is a difficult task, as the Cleveland Cavaliers are experiencing right now. Just ask their opponent on Friday night, the Miami Heat, who spent much of the first half of the season playing without Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo, or sometimes both.

The Cavs took on the Heat without Jarrett Allen for the second consecutive game; the big man is out indefinitely after fracturing his finger on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors. With Caris LeVert also out, the Cavs were somewhat shorthanded while facing a Heat team that was whole for one of the first times all season.

The Heat got out in front quickly and stayed up double digits for most of the first half. Then the Cavs battled back to make it a one-point game at the half, and throughout the third quarter it was back-and-forth. Then late in the third Miami blew the game open, and the Cavs lost hold of the rope in a 117-105 loss.

The Miami Heat took down the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-105 on Friday night. Who stood out for the Cavs, for good and for ill, in their latest loss?

The Heat are the best team in the Eastern Conference, so losing a competitive game is not a disaster. Even so the loss stings, and with the schedule ahead looking tough the Cavs need every win they can get. Who stands out from the defeat, both positively and negatively? Let’s highlight one stud and one dud from the stumbling loss.