Donovan Mitchell Drops 30 as Cavaliers Sink Heat 121-112/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Donovan Mitchell scores 30 to lead Cavaliers over Heat 121-112. Cavs take 2-0 series lead after late fourth-quarter takeover. Miami’s late rally falls short despite 33 points from Tyler Herro.
CLEVELAND (April 23, 2025) — Donovan Mitchell showed why he’s the Cavaliers’ go-to superstar on Wednesday night, scoring 30 points — including 17 in the fourth quarter — to push Cleveland past the Miami Heat 121-112giving the Cavs a 2-0 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Miami had clawed back from a 19-point deficitcutting the score to 105-103 with just over three minutes left. But Mitchell responded instantly with a step-back floaterfollowed by a deep 3-pointer after a Jarrett Allen stealreestablishing control and putting the game away.
It marked Mitchell’s 27th career playoff game with at least 30 pointsto go along with six rebounds and six assists.
The top-seeded Cavaliers were lethal from beyond the arc, sinking a playoff franchise-record 11 3-pointers in the second quarter aloneand 22 total for the night — tied for sixth most in NBA playoff history.
Evan Mobley contributed 20 pointsand Darius Garland added 19while Max Strus and Sam Merrill each hit key threes during Cleveland’s second-quarter surge. De' other hunter added a thunderous dunk late in the third that capped a run to put Cleveland up 93-74 before the Heat’s rally.
The Heatled by Tyler Herro’s 33 pointsrallied hard with a 25-8 run to narrow the gap to two points. Herro, along with Nikola Jovic and Davion Mitchell, led the charge with quick buckets and perimeter shooting.
But Miami couldn’t contain Mitchell when it mattered most.
Coach Kenny Atkinson praised Mitchell’s poise under pressure.
The series now moves to Miami for Game 3 on Saturday afternoonwhere the Heat will look to get back on track and avoid falling into a 3-0 hole.
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