The Cleveland Cavaliers made a dominant statement in the opening round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, cruising past the Miami Heat with a 121-100 victory on April 21 (PH time) at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The top-seeded Cavaliers, coming off their best regular season since 2008-2009 with a 64-18 record, showed no signs of slowing down as they took a 1-0 lead in the series.
Cleveland’s backcourt duo of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland led the charge, combining for 57 points in a dynamic display of scoring and playmaking. Mitchell dropped 30 points, while Garland chipped in 27 points, knocking down 5-of-9 from beyond the arc to keep the Heat defense on its heels.
Our THREE 20-POINT scorers!
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) April 21, 2025
DONOVAN MITCHELL: 30 PTS | 11-19 FG
TY JEROME: 28 PTS | 10-15 FG | 5-8 3PT
DARIUS GARLAND: 27 PTS | 10-17 FG | 5-9 3PT pic.twitter.com/fj4jLquKQr
The Cavs also received a huge boost off the bench from Ty Jerome, who had a breakout playoff performance with 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-8 from three-point range. His energy and shot-making gave Cleveland a strong second-unit spark that Miami failed to match.
For the Heat, Bam Adebayo led the way with 24 points and nine rebounds, doing all he could to keep his team competitive in the paint. Tyler Herro contributed 21 points, and Davion Mitchell added 18 points and nine assists, but the Heat couldn’t keep pace with the Cavs’ relentless offense.
Round 1 Game 1 final - Miami 100, Cleveland 121
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 21, 2025
🔥 Adebayo: 24pts, 9rebs & 3asts
🔥 Herro: 21pts (3 3s) & 3rebs
🔥 Mitchell: 18pts, 9asts & 4rebs
🔥 Wiggins: 14pts & 6rebs pic.twitter.com/CFPz1gIIqa
Miami, making its sixth straight playoff appearance since the 2019-2020 season Finals run, now faces an uphill battle against a Cavaliers team hungry for a deep postseason push. With home-court advantage and a balanced offensive attack, Cleveland looks poised to build on its impressive season and make a strong case as the team to beat in the East.
[Editor's note: This article was generated by AI, and then checked by the staff to ensure accuracy.]
