Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland did not hold back on the team’s game plan against the Miami Heat in their first-round best-of-seven series.
After helping the Cleveland Cavaliers win 121-112 yesterday to go up 2-0, the two-time NBA All-Star called Tyler Herro the weak link of the Miami Heat’s defense.
“Pick on Tyler Herro and take care of the ball. Don’t play in tight spaces and pick on their weak defenders,” Garland said via Danny Cunningham of Locked On Cavs.
Cleveland’s plan to attack Herro on the defensive end is working. According to RealCavsFans.com, the Cleveland Cavaliers have shot 21-for-33 from the field with the Miami Heat guard as the primary defender across the first two games in the series.
Cleveland Cavaliers set new playoff record in Game 2 win vs. Miami Heat
The Cleveland Cavaliers built a huge lead in the first half after catching fire from three-point land. They knocked down 11 of their 16 three-point attempts in the second period to set a new NBA playoff record for most three-point makes in a quarter.
“It worked exactly in my head how I thought it was gonna go. When you envision what you take from Game 1 to Game 2, I thought, yeah, if I get to the paint, guys are gonna collapse. And then to see guys continually hit shots, I mean that’s just a special group,” Donovan Mitchell said via Joe Reedy of The Associated Press. “When you have versatility like that from the 3-point line, it really makes it tough on the guard. And that’s what you saw in the second quarter.”
Cleveland almost blew a 19-point lead when Miami rallied late in the final quarter. However, Mitchell made some big shots down the stretch to help his team hold on for the victory.
