Miami must show more heart then they did in a recent blowout loss to Cleveland earlier this month.
GAME STORY
Hitting the road once again, the Miami Heat (16-11) face the Cleveland Cavaliers (16-12) tonight at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with tip-off scheduled at 7:00pm.
Jimmy Butler did not travel with the team as he continues to rehab from a tailbone injury while Markieff Morris is close to returning but is also out tonight. Caleb Martin remains away from the team since being placed in the league’s health and safety protocols on Saturday. Collin Sexton Jr. remains the only Cavs player on the injured list after undergoing season-ending surgery on his left knee.
Tonight will be the second time both teams face off this season, with Cleveland winning comfortably 111-85 on Dec. 1 with Kevin Love leading his team with 22 points to break a 20-game losing streak in Miami — a streak that dated back to Jan. 25, 2010 (even before LeBron James took his talents to South Beach). Tyler Herro led Miami, who were without Butler and Bam Adebayo (who was sitting out the first game with his currently injured right thumb), with 21 points but it wasn’t nearly enough in a game in which they were outscored in each of the four quarters.
Cleveland is on a three-game winning streak while Miami is coming off winning consecutive games for the first time in more than a month.
ODDS: FiveThirtyEight gives the Heat a 36% chance to win the game.
HEAT VS CAVALIERS: MONDAY, DECEMBER 13 AT 7:00 P.M.
INJURIES
MIAMI:
- Victor Oladipo: out (knee; surgery rehab)
- Markieff Morris: out (whiplash)
- Bam Adebayo: out (thumb)
- Jimmy Butler: out (tailbone)
- Caleb Martin: out (health and safety protocols)
CLEVELAND:
- Collin Sexton: out for season (knee)
LINEUPS
BROADCAST INFO
TV: Bally Sports Sun, NBA League Pass
RADIO: The Ticket 790AM & The HEAT Radio Network (Jason Jackson, Ruth Riley Hunter)
SPANISH RADIO: WAQI 710AM & The HEAT Spanish Radio Network (José Pañeda, Joe Pujala)
Come back to Hot Hot Hoops at game time to join our GameThread and chat about the game live with other Heat fans!