In basketball, as in many things in life, there are no moral victories. Not even for these young Cleveland Cavaliers, so inexperienced and so unheralded. Not even when the Cavaliers came within mere seconds of knocking off the defending-champion Miami Heat on Saturday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Because the Cavaliers faltered in the end, and fell, 110-108, to the Heat, thanks to a Ray Allen 3-pointer with 18.2 seconds remaining, they couldn’t revel in all the things that they did well, at long last.
That they were scrappy and feisty. That eight of nine players scored in double-digits, that the bench finally came to life and fared well against an opponent.
There was no consolation for the Cavaliers when Miami scored the final nine points in the last 2:14 to erase what had been a seven-point Cleveland lead.
The Heat held on to tie a franchise-best start at 10-3, 6-0 at home. The Cavaliers fell to 3-10.
“We have to learn how to play together and win together and close games out,” Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. “That’ll come in time. We all understand that. It still doesn’t make it any better right now.”
The wounds are all the more painful when coming closer. For once, the Cavaliers kept the ball moving offensively, and the product was well-distributed scoring. For the first time since 2007, eight Cavaliers players scored in double digits. Jeremy Pargo and Dion Waiters led with 16 points apiece while Omri Casspi scored 15 off the bench while hitting 4-of-4 3-pointers.
The bench, in fact, outscored Miami’s reserves, 41-26, only the second time this season that Cleveland’s back-ups have outscored the opponent’s.
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