A 2-0 lead is available for the Cleveland Cavaliers when they welcome the Miami Heat to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Thursday in the second chapter of the sides' playoff duel.
The home side made light work of their visitors en route to a comfortable triumph in Game One and will be eager to tighten their grip on the series before it returns to Miami.
Match preview
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With so much weight of expectations on them after clinching the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers were eager to make a flying start to their postseason journey against the Miami Heat.
Just a few hours after he was named one of the nominees for the Coach of the Year award, Kenny Atkinson saw his side lay down an early marker courtesy of a 121-100 triumph during which they trailed for only 35 seconds of the 48 minutes.
All-Star duo Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland came to the fore for their team, tallying 30 and 27 points respectively, but Ty Jerome's performance was arguably the pick of the bunch as he notched 28 points off the bench.
Since losing three straight editions of this fixture between March and December 2024, the Cavaliers have now beaten the Heat in three consecutive clashes this year by a combined margin of 46 points.
Having averaged the most points per game during the regular season, Thursday's hosts are showing no signs of slowing down on the offensive end and will definitely take some stopping in front of their fans, where they are 10-3 over the last 13 matches.
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Despite finishing 10th in the East with an underwhelming 37-45 record, the Miami Heat managed to get themselves in the playoffs via the play-in tournament with two hard-fought victories on enemy territory.
Erik Spoelstra's men first saw off the Chicago Bulls in the ninth vs. 10th matchup last Thursday before eliminating the Atlanta Hawks at the State Farm Arena two days later thanks to a 123-114 overtime triumph.
Taking part in a third game in the space of just under six days last time out, the Heat battled hard to keep the contest close as much as possible but were ultimately blown out in the final 12 minutes.
Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro are two of only three remaining members from the Heat roster that reached the 2023 finals, and both men gave a good account of themselves with a combined 45 points, while Davion Mitchell also impressed on his playoff debut for his new employers with 18 points and nine assists.
As they prepare for a fourth straight away game, Thursday's visitors will need to dig deep if they are to cause an upset and level their playoff first-round series as going 2-0 down would leave them with a significant mountain to climb.
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Team News
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As things stand, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a clean bill of health for this one and will be expected to name the same starting five barring any late development.
Twenty-seven-year-old Ty Jerome made the most of his time off the bench last time out, further solidifying his status as the Cavs' most reliable sixth man.
Defensive Player of the Year finalist Evan Mobley performed below his usual standards in Game One and will be keen to bounce back in Thursday's encounter.
Miami Heat guard Dru Smith underwent surgery to repair a ruptured left Achilles tendon back in December, ruling him out of contention for the remainder of the campaign.
Isaiah Stevens is on a two-way contract and is ineligible to take part here as a result, while Kevin Love remains unavailable for the away side due to personal reasons.
Terry Rozier is drawing increasingly closer to returning to action from an ankle problem, although his availability for Thursday's game currently hangs in the balance.
Cleveland Cavaliers possible starting 5:
Garland, Mitchell; Strus, Mobley; Allen
Miami Heat possible starting 5:
Herro, Burks; Wiggins, Adebayo; Ware
We say: Cavaliers to win by 10+ points
The Cavaliers are huge favourites to progress into the next round, and we are tipping them to take one step closer towards achieving that with a commanding victory on Thursday.
Joshua Ojele
