The Cleveland Cavaliers will play Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first round against the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center on Saturday. On Wednesday, they defeated Miami 121-112 to take a 2-0 lead in the series. The Heat needs to win their first game at home, or else they’ll go 3-0 down, at which point their playoff run will be all but over.
Miami made things interesting in game two and even outperformed the Cavaliers during the second half. Tyler Herro had a stellar game, recording 33 points, six rebounds and five assists. Davion Mitchell was also solid, finishing his night with 18 points and six assists.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers relied on Donovan Mitchell, who went 7-for-10 from 3-point range, recording 30 points, six rebounds and six assists. Darius Garland was key and put up 21 points and nine assists. If the Heat hopes to catch up to the Cavs, players like Andrew Wiggins and Bam Adebayo will need to be a bigger part of the proceedings.
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Herro alone won’t be able to take Miami past Cleveland. It’ll be interesting to see how the Heat adjusts for their Game 3.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Miami Heat Injury Reports for April 26
Miami Heat injury report
The Heat still don’t have a clean bill of health as they have a few players listed on their injury report for Saturday’s game. Kevin Love (personal reasons) and Terru Roszier (ankle) will both miss game three against Cleveland.
Cleveland Cavaliers injury report
The Cleveland Cavaliers are mostly healthy, but could be without Darius Garland, who is listed as questionable with a toe sprain.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Miami Heat Starting Lineups and Depth Charts for April 26
Miami Heat starting lineup and depth charts
The Heat is expected to start Tyler Herro, Davion Mitchell, Andrew Wiggins, Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware.
Point Guard
Shooting Guard
Small Forward
Power Forward
Center
Tyler Herro
Davion Mitchell
Andrew Wiggins
Bam Adebayo
Kel’el Ware
Alec Burks
Duncan Robinson
Haywood Highsmith
Kyle Anderson
Nikola Jovic
Pelle Larsson
Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Cleveland Cavaliers starting lineup and depth charts
The Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to start Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
Sameer is an esports and gaming journalist at Sportskeeda who covers a diverse range of topics. He is currently pursuing a BSc degree from BITS, but his love for video games pushed him to pursue a gaming journalism career. He relies on diligent research and fact-checking to deliver top-notch content. He has previously worked in the hospitality sector with the Oberoi Group.
Sameer’s gaming journey began with Rockstar Games’ GTA franchise, specifically Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. He strongly prefers multiplayer games, with FPS being his favorite genre, and has devoted 6K+ hours to CS:GO! However, he also dabbles in open-world, story-based games from time to time. Solo RPGs like Horizon Forbidden West hold a soft spot in his heart, and he would readily drop in it given a Jumanji-type scenario.
Sameer makes sure to follow Counter-Strike and Valorant esports tournaments, as he believes that watching a game being played at the highest level can be highly educational. He derives inspiration from Tarik’s meteoric rise to become one of the biggest FPS streamers in the world following the release of Valorant.
Outside of work, you can find Sameer playing football or cheering for FC Barcelona. He also likes to read and write poetry.