Diving deeper into Cavs 133-121 loss to Heat: Supporting players shine in losing effort

Facing a front line of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo is a tall task for any team — especially one without the services of Evan Mobley (toe). The Miami Heat’s ability to attack the depleted frontcourt led to a 133-121 loss for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Three stars of the game

First star: Giannis Antetokounmpo

37 points on 15-of-20 shooting, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block

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Typically, the Cavs use Jarrett Allen as the primary defender on Giannis, with Mobley shading in his direction to provide help at the rim. Without Mobley, Allen was left on an island guarding Giannis without much help behind him. Allen fought hard, but he could only do so much.

The Heat have struggled as a team this season, but those issues haven’t come at the expense of Giannis’s individual numbers. He’s still been playing at a superstar level.

Second star: Bam Adebayo

37 points on 13-0f-19 shooting, 14 rebounds, 3 assists

Peyton Watson drew the primary assignment on Adebayo with Mobley sidelined. Watson needed to help on Giannis drives and was giving up considerable strength in his individual matchup with Adebayo. These two factors allowed Adebayo to get whatever he wanted inside, as evidenced by shooting 9-of- 12 in the paint.

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Third star: Donovan Mitchell

25 points on 9-of-21 shooting, 7 assists, 4 rebounds

This was a good game from a process perspective. Mitchell got rid of the ball when traps came his way, and trusted his teammates when he needed to. Miami’s defense was collapsing inside on any dribble penetration, leaving room for outside shots. Mitchell took advantage of this, going 8-for-17 on jump shots. The issue came on drives and floaters inside, where he was just 1-for-4.

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Dud of the game

Peyton Watson

4 points on 2-of-10 shooting, 4 rebounds, 2 assists

This was a tough matchup for Watson. He was asked to guard a player he had no business defending due to injuries and, unsurprisingly, struggled. The issue…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/diving-deeper-cavs-133-121-050000237.html

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Publish date : 2026-11-14 05:00:00

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