Miami Heat vs Cleveland Cavaliers Player Stats and Box Score (Apr. 20) | Game 1, 2025 NBA Playoffs

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome punished the Miami Heat on Sunday for paying too much attention to Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell. Jerome scattered 16 points and three assists in the first eight minutes of the fourth period to give the Cavaliers a much-needed lift. The backup point guard's sizzling performance was the separation the home team needed against the stubborn Heat.

Jerome came off the bench to contribute 28 points, five rebounds and three assists. Garland and Mitchell combined for 57 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and five steals.

Miami kept in step for most of the game behind a solid defense and a balanced attack. The Heat looked ready to push the Cavs entering the fourth quarter until Ty Jerome's sizzling display blindsided them.

Miami Heat vs Cleveland Cavaliers player stats and box score

Miami Heat player stats and box score

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG	3-PT FG	FT	+/-
Andrew Wiggins	14	6	2	1	0	4	5-11	2-6	2-2	-21
Bam Adebayo	24	9	3	2	1	1	10-22	1-5	3-6	-12
Kel'el Ware	2	3	2	0	2	0	1-2	0-1	0-0	-12
Tyler Herro	21	3	2	1	0	3	7-18	3-6	4-4	-17
Alec Burks	6	2	2	0	0	0	2-3	2-3	0-0	-1
Duncan Robinson	8	3	0	0	0	2	3-5	2-3	0-0	0
Haywood Highsmith	7	6	2	0	1	1	3-4	1-2	0-0	-11
Keshad Johnson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Nikola Jovic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-1	0-1	0-0	0
Kyle Anderson	0	1	1	0	0	0	0-1	0-0	0-0	-7
Davion Mitchell	18	4	9	1	0	3	8-12	2-3	0-0	-19
Jaime Jaquez Jr.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-1	0-1	0-0	0
Pelle Larsson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-		-	-	-
Terry Rozier	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-		-	-

Cleveland Cavaliers player stats and box score

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG	3-PT FG	FT	+/-
Evan Mobley	9	7	1	0	0	1	4-10	1-3	0-0	+9
Jarrett Allen	12	11	1	3	1	2	5-8	0-0	2-2	+14
Darius Garland	27	3	5	1	0	2	10-17	5-9	2-2	+15
Donovan Mitchell	30	5	4	4	0	2	11-19	2-9	6-7	+10
Max Strus	9	1	1	0	0	0	3-5	3-5	0-0	+18
Dean Wade	0	1	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	+5
Chuma Okeke	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Jaylon Tyson	0	1	0	0	0	0	0-1	0-1	0-0	0
De'Andre Hunter	0	3	1	0	0	0	0-4	0-0	0-0	-2
Isaac Okoro	0	2	1	0	1	0	0-4	0-4	0-0	+5
Ty Jerome	28	5	3	0	0	0	10-15	5-8	3-5	+16
Sam Merrill	6	1	4	0	2	0	2-4	2-4	0-0	+11
Javonte Green	0	1	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Craig Porter Jr.	0	1	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Tristan Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Miami Heat vs Cleveland Cavaliers Game Summary

The battle-weary Miami Heat will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Sunday. Miami became the first 10th-seeded team to earn a postseason berth by winning back-to-back do-or-die games. The Heat dispatched the Chicago Bulls 109-90 on Wednesday before edging the Atlanta Hawks 123-114 in overtime on Friday to punch a playoff ticket.

Cleveland opened the game with a 14-5 blast in the first four minutes before Miami countered with a 10-2 run. The Heat surge forced Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson to his first timeout of the series. Donovan Mitchell and Co. held their visitors without a field goal in the last three minutes to build a 31-24 lead after one quarter.

The Cavaliers threatened to blow the game open on multiple occasions in the second quarter but the Heat stubbornly held on. A strong finishing kick by the visiting team cut Cleveland's lead to 62-54 at halftime.

The third quarter was a slugfest on both ends. Neither the Heat nor the Cavs gave an inch as both teams finished the period in a 25-25 draw. Cleveland had an 87-79 lead entering the final frame but Miami looked ready to push the No. 1 seeded team in the East in the last 12 minutes.

Ty Jerome, making his playoff debut, finally gave the Cleveland Cavaliers the separation they needed from the Miami Heat. The backup guard had 16 points and three assists in the opening eight minutes to give his team a big lift off the bench. Erik Spoelstra emptied his bench when Cleveland's lead ballooned to 119-100 with 1:23 left.