EditorsNote: Corrected halftime score in 3rd-to-last graf
Duncan Robinson scored a career-high 29 points -- making seven 3-pointers in a decisive second quarter -- as the host Miami Heat routed the Cleveland Cavaliers 124-100 on Wednesday night.
Rookie guard Tyler Herro added 22 points as the Heat improved to 6-0 at home this season.
Robinson, a 6-7 forward who went undrafted last year, made 9-of-15 3-pointers, falling one short of the team record of 10 3-pointers held by Mario Chalmers and Brian Shaw.
Still, Robinson scored 24 of his points in the first half, making 8-of-10 on 3-pointers.
He did all of that in front of Cavaliers coach John Beilein, who recruited Robinson to the University of Michigan as a transfer from Division III Williams College in 2014.
Besides Robinson's heroics, Wednesday's game marked the return of Heat backup point guard Goran Dragic, who had 13 points and six assists. Dragic had missed Miami's previous game due to illness.
The Cavaliers, who have lost five straight games, got two players back from the injured list. Kevin Love, who had missed one game due to back tightness, returned with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Larry Nance Jr., who had missed two straight games due to a sprained left thumb, returned with 16 points and nine rebounds. Nance had 12 of his points in the first quarter.
Miami won despite the continued absences of point forward Justise Winslow (concussion) and wing Derrick Jones (hip). In addition, Miami prevailed despite the fact that its star, Jimmy Butler, missed 13 of his first 14 shots.
Butler, however, went 13-for-13 from the foul line and finished with 21 points. He finished with 3-for-16 shooting from the floor.
Cleveland led early at 4-2, but that was it for the Cavaliers as the Heat took over, gaining a 32-22 advantage by the end of the first quarter. The Heat shot a blistering 66.7 percent in those first 12 minutes, holding Cleveland to 40.9 percent.
The second quarter was more of the same as the Heat built a 27-point lead before settling for a 75-48 advantage at the break.
Again, the story was the shooting as the Heat shot 69.0 percent for the first half, including 12-of-20 from 3-point range. Cleveland was held to 37.8 percent shooting from the floor.
After Miami's highest-scoring half of the season, the Heat cruised to a 99-77 lead after three quarters and coasted from there.
--Field Level Media
