Cavs fall to Heat 122-113, lose Evan Mobley to an ankle injury

It was a bad night for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who lost 122-113 to the Miami Heat on Sunday night in South Beach. Donovan Mitchell finished with 12 points on 5-16 shooting. Darius Garland had 23 points, five rebounds and five assists.

The Cavs found themselves in the second leg of a matchup that was difficult for any team, but made especially challenging by the loss of arguably their second-best player. Evan Mobley, who had just tied his career-high with 41 points against Charlotte, left the game after just 11 minutes on the court after twisting his ankle. At this point, the 23-year-old had four points and three rebounds.

Tyler Herro continued his strong season with a 34-point outing, his third 30-point game in his last six games. Bam Adebayo had a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds along with six assists. As a team, the Heat made 43% of their three-point attempts and missed just two free throws on 26 attempts from the charity stripe. The Cavs had strikingly similar numbers. They were 42% from deep and only missed one free throw – albeit on just 18 attempts.

While it’s never fun to accept a loss, the Cavs would happily accept it if it doesn’t cause Mobley’s ankle injury to be serious. The good news is that Cleveland won’t play another game against the Washington Wizards until Friday, so Mobley should have time to rest and recover by then. That’s the bright side of missing out on advancing to the NBA Cup.

Not equally worrisome, but worrisome nonetheless, is Jarrett Allen’s continued average play. The former All-Star was largely invisible after Mobley’s fall and allowed his opponent Adebayo to play confidently. Allen finished the game with six points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes and hasn’t scored more than 11 points in a game since Thanksgiving. If Mobley is ever sidelined, Allen will need to be a bigger presence on both ends of the court.

The Cavs take a meaningful break while the NBA Cup is played, taking on the Wizards at home on Friday, December 13th.