MIAMI — The play is called “CQ.” It’s not the most imaginative name; those are simply the initials of Miami Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn, who drew up a play about four years ago that head coach Erik Spoelstra has been waiting to use.
That wait ended Monday.
Spoelstra called the play and let Quinn run the huddle in the final time-out of the game with four-tenths of a second left in overtime, drawing up how Norman Powell would create a distraction and Davion Mitchell would set a screen and Jaime Jaquez Jr. would just hang out in the corner and Nikola Jovic would throw a lob inbounds pass and Andrew Wiggins, if all went according to plan, would have a dunk at the rim.
“Perfect,” Jaquez Jr. said.
Everything went as it should. Final score: Miami 140, Cleveland 138, capping one of the wilder games in this wild start to the NBA season. It wasn’t the only buzzer-beater in the state of Florida on Monday night as an hour earlier Desmond Bane drilled a 3 to help the Orlando Magic beat the Trail Blazers. It’s only the second day in NBA history featuring multiple game-winning buzzer-beaters in the same state, according to ESPN Research.
“I’m just embracing the unknown, embracing the confidence guys are gaining in what we’re doing,” Spoelstra said. “It always helps when you get some W’s out of it, but guys understand our identity to defend and now can create some things for us offensively. Guys are growing right before our eyes.”
Cleveland took 120 shots in the game, the most ever by a Heat opponent and the most by any team in the NBA since Jan. 2, 2023. The Cavaliers took 65 3-pointers, also the most ever by a Miami opponent and the third-highest total in NBA history — Houston took 70 on Jan. 16, 2019 and took 68 three nights later for spots No. 1 and 2 on that list.
And it wasn’t enough.
“That’s a chess game. Chess match. You’ve got to give them credit,” said Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, who made a crazy 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in overtime — almost an afterthought because of what the Heat did next. “They made an excellent read, an excellent call and you learn from these things. This is great this happened now. This is something that, you get to a situation later in the year and say, ‘OK, we understand where we can adjust.’ We watch the film and go from there.”
There were numbers Cleveland didn’t like, such as the 21-4 discrepancy in free-throw attempts in the third quarter — which coach Kenny Atkinson pointed out to the officiating crew and earned an ejection in the process.
“When the disparity’s that great, you’ve got to stick up for your guys,” Atkinson said.
Spoelstra had a different disparity in mind coming into the game: a 55-point one that was on the scoreboard the last time the Heat and Cavaliers played.
Round 1, Game 4, Eastern Conference first-round in Miami. Cleveland embarrassed the Heat, winning 138-83 to sweep what was the most lopsided playoff series in NBA history. The Cavaliers scored exactly 138 points again on Monday — and the Heat found a way to win anyway.
That series led Spoelstra to change almost everything about the way Miami plays. The offense is unrecognizable compared to what it was. The pace is super-fast compared to past years. The goal is to attack on every possession, either getting to the rim or getting a 3-pointer in the air. Cleveland forced the Heat to reassess everything.
So far, that seems like a good thing for Miami.
“The new offense, it’s night and day,” Wiggins said. “We’re out there, playing with a lot of joy, playing fast. Everyone’s out there in great rhythm, so it’s been a great start of the year.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
