The Cleveland Cavaliers are headed to the playoffs.
The Cavaliers became the first team in the league to clinch a playoff spot this season with their 112-107 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. That officially sends the Cavaliers into the postseason for the third straight year, which marks their best stretch since they reached the NBA Finals in four consecutive seasons with LeBron James from 2015-18.
The win marked the Cavaliers’ 12th straight, and secured a non-play-in tournament seed for the franchise. The first round of the playoffs will start on April 19.
Wednesday was a battle at Rocket Arena, though Cleveland finished the night with an incredible defensive stand. The Heat took the lead with a short Haywood Highsmith jumper just inside the three-minute mark, and then they failed to score the rest of the way. The Cavs used a 6-0 run to walk away with the narrow win.
Bam Adebayo led Miami with 34 points and 12 rebounds, and Duncan Robinson added 14 points off the bench. The Heat have lost two of their last three, and sit at 29-32 on the season. They’re now seventh in the Eastern Conference standings, 5.5 games back from avoiding the play-in tournament.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 26 points and seven rebounds in the win. De’Andre Hunter finished with 16 points, and Evan Mobley finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Wednesday’s win pushed the Cavaliers to 52-10 on the season, which is the best record in the league. They started the year by winning 15 straight games and 17 of their first 18 to immediately get a jump on the rest of the conference. Cleveland is just the fourth team in NBA history to start out 15-0. The last three made it to the NBA Finals.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the only other team in the NBA that has 50 wins, entering play on Wednesday night with a 50-11 record. Both teams hold a significant lead in their respective conferences. The Boston Celtics entered Wednesday trailing Cleveland by more than seven games in the standings.
While the Cavaliers still have a long way to go to actually reach the NBA Finals, and there are plenty of teams in the East that can stop them, the first step on that quest is now behind them. They are playoff-bound.
