Image Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Cleveland Cavaliers becomes the first team to clinch Playoffs spot with win over Heat

The Cavaliers became the first team to secure a playoff berth this season.

Image Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers became the first team to secure a 2024-25 playoffs spot. The Eastern Conference toppers took down the Miami Heat 112-107 in a thrilling encounter on Wednesday, March 5 to qualify for this year’s postseason.

The Cavaliers headed into the game on the back of an excellent 51-10 tally and eleven straight wins. As they recorded their 12th consecutive win, they became the fourth team in the history of the league to have three 11+ game win streaks in a single season. With this, they joined the likes of the 1999-00 Lakers, 2006-07 Mavericks and 2017-18 Rockets.

After the win, the Cavaliers are 52-10 in the season. They started the year by winning 15 straight games and 17 of their 18 games to gain an early lead over the rest of the teams. Apart from them, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the only team to have a 50-11 record.

The Cavaliers have made it to the postseason 24 times in their 55 seasons in the league. They have played 49 playoff series, winning 26 and losing 23. This year, the playoff season will begin on April 19 after the regular season comes to an end on April 13.

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“It’s a sign of our hard work as a group”- Donovan Mitchell as Cavaliers secure playoffs spot

The Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell reflected upon the win and making it to the playoffs with 20 regular season games remaining. He called it a “sign of hard work as a group.” In the post-game interview, he told ESPN, “It’s definitely a blessing. It’s an honor. You know, it’s a sign of hard work as a group.”

He went on to say that being in the playoffs doesn’t mean much as it is not the ultimate goal but another step of the journey.

“At the end of the day, don’t really mean much. You know what I am saying? Like it is great to be in the Playoffs, but you know when we started this, and when I signed, Playoffs wasn’t the goal. It is just another step on our journey. You know what I mean? I am definitely happy to do it in front of the home crowd but you know we got a lot more to accomplish,” he added.

Notably, Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Evan Mobley added 16 points while Darius Garland had 15 points, three rebounds and 10 assists to add. De’Andre Hunter also called it a night with 16 points, five rebounds and two assists.

On the Heat’s side, Bam Adebayo chipped in a game-leading 34 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Duncan Robinson had 14 points, and Haywood Highsmith chipped in 13 points.

In their next game, the Cavaliers will be up against the Hornets on Friday, March 7.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Donavan Mitchell

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.