Best from Osman not enough for Cavaliers

Cedi Osman’s career-high 29 points was not enough as the Cleveland Cavliers fell to the Miami Heat at home by a score of 100-94

Even with a player achieving a career-high in points scored the Cleveland Cavaliers are unable to come away with a win. Cedi Osman went 11-20 from the floor in the loss to Miami Friday night. Osman made three of eight attempts from deep and four of five from the free throw line. In addition to his career-best scoring effort, Osman was able to add four assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Four other Cavaliers scored in double-digits Friday. Ante Zizic, Collin Sexton, Rodney Hood and Alec Burks all scored 10 points or more in the contest. While Zizic started quick in the first half, the Cleveland center was limited to just one point in the second half. Miami tightened up defensively and essentially erased Zizic from the game when it mattered most.

Sexton endured another rough shooting night. The rookie went 4-13 from the field, including 3-6 from deep. The fact Sexton only converted one of seven two-point attempts is quite concerning. Speaking of rough shooting nights, Jordan Clarkson also struggled coming off the bench. Clarkson was only able to convert three of 11 attempts, this includes missing all three attempts from three-point range. Clarkson has been Cleveland’s leading bench scorer this season. If Clarkson struggles, typically the whole bench unit struggles as well.

A predictable 3rd quarter collapse did the Cavaliers in yet again. Cleveland led 53-48 at halftime but was outscored 32-17 in the 3rd quarter. While Cleveland was able to close the gap just a bit in the 4th, the disastrous 3rd quarter was the difference in the game. The Cavaliers need to figure out a way to avoid the bad second half. This is a trend that has been going on all season and figures to continue for the duration of the season.