National Basketball Association
Miami 106, Cleveland 98
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, March 6, 2017
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Officials:
#3 Nick Buchert, #13 Monty McCutchen, #66 Haywoode Workman
Attendance:
20562
By The Sports Xchange
CLEVELAND -- A night of sweet revenge for Dion Waiters, and one of terrible luck for his former team and its newest player.
Dion Waiters burned the Cavaliers with 29 points, and the Miami Heat beat Cleveland for the second time in three nights, posting a 106-98 victory Monday at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Cavs lost more than another game, too. Center Andrew Bogut exited with a fractured left tibia just 58 seconds into his Cleveland debut.
Waiters, traded from Cleveland in January 2015, shot 12 of 24 from the field and banked in a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 12.2 seconds left to thwart a furious Cavaliers comeback attempt.
"It's good," Waiters said of having that kind of performance in Cleveland, where he was selected with the No. 4 pick of the 2012 draft. "But the point is to get a win. That's the biggest thing. Especially against the champs. You always want to test yourself to see where you're at. That's a helluva team over there."
Goran Dragic scored 21 points for the Heat, while Hassan Whiteside added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Wayne Ellington added 18 points off the bench.
Waiters, who drew the ire of Cavs J.R. Smith and Kyrie Irving at the end of Miami's 120-92 win over Cleveland Saturday in a postgame dust-up, opened this game with 14 points in the first quarter and was 10-of-12 shooting by halftime.
"He was unbelievable," Dragic said. "It's always tempting against your former team. You want to play well. He made a couple huge shots, especially that bank 3 at the end. We just tried to keep feeding him."
The Cavs received 32 points from Irving and 30 points from LeBron James, who also set a season high with 17 rebounds. James scored 10 in the fourth as Cleveland attempted to recover from a 20-point deficit with 10:47 left in the game.
Bogut, 32, a past champion with the Golden State Warriors, signed as a free agent with Cleveland for $385,000 for the rest of the season on Thursday and joined the team Monday before the game.
With 11:38 left in the second quarter, Bogut ran out to the perimeter to guard Miami's Okaro White. There was contact, and Bogut was whistled for his second foul. He landed badly on his left ankle and hobbled before falling to the court. He needed his new teammates to help carry him to the locker room.
"I heard a break," James said. "As soon as the collision happened, I heard a break. When I went over to him and he said it, I already knew, I heard it crack."
Initial testing on Bogut showed the fracture, and he was sent to the Cleveland Clinic for further evaluation. The team did not announce a timetable for his return.
When he was carried off, it was like the air had been sucked out of the building, and certainly the Cavs.
Teammates saw him in the locker room at halftime before he was sent to the hospital.
"How would you think his spirit's like? He played 58 seconds," James said. "And have an injury like that to take you out for the rest of the season, possibly, and you really, there's not much you can say."
NOTES: Cavs coach Tyronn Lue was not with the team Monday night, staying home due to an undisclosed illness he has been battling for at least a week. Associate head coach Larry Drew ran the team. ... Heat G Tyler Johnson (neck, shoulder soreness) and F James Johnson (elbow) were held out. James Johnson needed four stitches in Saturday's game after his elbow chipped the front teeth of Cavs G Iman Shumpert. ... Cleveland C Andrew Bogut, an Australian, could not participate in the shootaround Monday because the change on his work visa from Dallas to Cleveland had not been made. "So I called Vladimir Putin and got it done," Bogut said. Bogut, who wears jersey No. 6, had a No. 6.5 practice jersey because LeBron James wears No. 6 in practice.
Top Game Performances
Miami |
|
Cleveland |
Dion Waiters 29 |
Scoring |
Kyrie Irving 32 |
Goran Dragic 6 |
Assists |
LeBron James 6 |
Hassan Whiteside 11 |
Rebounds |
LeBron James 17 |
Hassan Whiteside 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Kyrie Irving 6 |
Josh Richardson 3 |
Steals |
LeBron James 1 |
Hassan Whiteside 2 |
Blocks |
Tristan Thompson 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Miami
|
106 |
42.9 |
16-35 |
12-14 |
23 |
38 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
Cleveland
|
98 |
44.9 |
9-27 |
19-29 |
15 |
52 |
6 |
3 |
17 |
Upcoming Games
-
Cleveland will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .700 after a loss.
-
Miami will play their next game at home against Charlotte. The Heat have a W/L % of .621 after a win and .343 after a loss.