Cavs down three All-Stars, stun Heat on road anyway

The Cavaliers showed up in Miami on Wednesday looking like a team held together by tape and optimism.

No Donovan Mitchell. No Darius Garland. No Evan Mobley. No Jaylon Tyson. No Max Strus.

Five rotation guys gone. Three All-Stars out.

And still, somehow, Cleveland walked into Kaseya Center and handed the Heat their first home loss of the season, 130-116.

Two nights after losing on a heartbreaking alley-oop at the buzzer, there was no sequel. No 15 lead changes.

No fourth-quarter chaos. No overtime. Just a short-handed Cavs group that stayed close long enough to flip the whole thing on its head.

Miami led for nearly 37 minutes. The Cavs looked like they were headed for another long night on Biscayne Bay.

Then the fourth quarter happened.

Luke Travers floated in the bucket that gave Cleveland its first lead with just over 10 minutes to go. Nae’Qwan Tomlin followed with a putback.

Suddenly, it was an 8-1 Cavaliers burst, and Heat fans started glancing toward the exits.

By the time the clock hit 5:28, Cleveland was up 10. A few trips later, the margin ballooned to 18, and Miami coach Erik Spoelstra waved in the reserves.

The Cavs outscored Miami 37-19 in the final frame, turning a grind-it-out night into a statement road win.

Jarrett Allen set the tone with 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting and 10 rebounds. De’Andre Hunter added 21.

Craig Porter Jr. played the game of his life, finishing with 19 points, eight assists, four boards, four blocks and three steals in 32 minutes that completely changed the feel of the night. Rookie Tyrese Proctor chipped in 12 and made plays late.

Before tipoff, coach Kenny Atkinson said he just wanted to see “competitiveness” from his patched-together roster.

He got it. And something extra.

The Cavs (8-4) head back to Cleveland for the second half of a back-to-back on Thursday, hosting the Raptors at 7 p.m.