Jimmy Butler leads red-hot Heat in rout of Cavs
FILE – Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat reacts afte his team defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 103 – 93 during an NBA game at Smoothie King Center on March 04, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Sean Gardner/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Sean Gardner / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Jimmy Butler had 28 points, a season-high-tying 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals to carry the host Miami Heat to a 113-98 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
It was Butler’s seventh straight game with at least 27 points. The Heat, who won their fifth straight and improved to 11-1 in their past 12 games, got 17 points from Kelly Olynyk and 15 from Tyler Herro.
5 straight victories.
11 wins in last 12 games.@JimmyButler records 28 PTS, 12 REB and the @MiamiHEAT stay HOT! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Dxfa9RWkfN— NBA (@NBA) March 17, 2021
Miami’s Bam Adebayo, who missed four straight games due to a knee injury, returned and scored 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished six assists in 30 minutes.
Cleveland, which has lost four straight games, was led by Collin Sexton, who had a team-high 21 points. JaVale McGee had 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. McGee shot 8-of-10 from the floor.
Larry Nance Jr. added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers.
Early on, Miami led 5-0 by making its first two shots, prompting a quick Cavaliers timeout.
Cleveland responded with an immediate 9-0 run. However, Miami recovered and led 37-26 at the end of the first quarter. The Heat shot a blistering 68.4 percent from the floor in the first, including 5-for-5 on 3-pointers.
The Heat stretched their lead to as many as 16 points in the second quarter and went into halftime up 62-48. Miami shot 59 percent in the first half and got 14 points from Butler. The Cavaliers outscored Miami in the paint during that span, 38-30, and McGee had 12 points on 6-for-6 shooting.
Miami, with eight third-quarter points from Butler, grew its lead to 95-76 heading into the fourth.
Cleveland made a late surge with a 14-4 run to cut its deficit to 105-93 with 3:05 left in the fourth, but the Heat held on for the win.
For the game, the Heat shot 49.4 percent from the floor, including 10-for-27 on 3-pointers (37.0 percent). Cleveland shot 45.3 percent from the floor, including 10-for-35 on 3-pointers (28.6 percent).
