NBA's top defenses square off in Heat-Cavaliers matchup

Thu, Mar 9, 2023
NBA News (AP)

Cleveland Cavaliers (42-26, fourth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Miami Heat (35-32, seventh in the Eastern Conference)

Miami; Friday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: The Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers square off in a meeting between the NBA's top two defenses.

The Heat are 18-22 against conference opponents. Miami is at the bottom of the Eastern Conference averaging just 108.3 points per game.

The Cavaliers have gone 26-13 against Eastern Conference opponents. Cleveland ranks sixth in the Eastern Conference with 25.0 assists per game led by Darius Garland averaging 7.9.

The teams meet for the fourth time this season. The Cavaliers won 104-100 in the last matchup on March 9.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jimmy Butler is averaging 22.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.9 steals for the Heat. Bam Adebayo is averaging 18.9 points over the last 10 games for Miami.

Evan Mobley is scoring 16.0 points per game and averaging 9.0 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Donovan Mitchell is averaging 3.6 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Cleveland.

LAST 10 GAMES: Heat: 3-7, averaging 107.9 points, 38.3 rebounds, 23.1 assists, 6.3 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 45.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.5 points per game.

Cavaliers: 6-4, averaging 112.1 points, 39.8 rebounds, 24.8 assists, 8.9 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 48.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.1 points.

INJURIES: Heat: Kyle Lowry: out (knee), Nikola Jovic: out (back).

Cavaliers: None listed.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.