The Cleveland Cavaliers started their 2025 NBA playoffs journey with a commanding 121-100 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday. The No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference standings hosted the first No. 10 ever to make it to the playoffs, but made sure to make a statement from the very beginning.
After winning the regular-season series 2-1, the Cavs were ready to start the playoffs on the right foot and send a clear message from Day 1.
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Besides Donovan Mitchell scoring 30 points to lead the Cavaliers to a comfortable win, an unexpected player showed up for Cleveland, coming close to breaking LeBron James’ 19-year playoff record.
Ty Jerome of the Cleveland Cavaliers. © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
After five years in the league, Ty Jerome played his first playoff game, in which he scored 28 points off the bench, completing a sensational debut.
SportsCenter‘s official X account shared that Jerome scored the third-most points in a Cavaliers playoffs debut, only behind two major former stars: LeBron James (32 points in 2006) and Kyrie Irving (30 points in 2015).
Jerome played the fifth-most minutes for the Cavaliers tonight (26), only behind starts Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley (both with 33), Darius Garland (31) and Jarrett Allen (30), respectively.
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The guard added five rebounds and three assists to his account, while posting a +17 plus-minus.
The Cavaliers took the 1-0 lead against a Heat team that didn’t find an answer to what they brought on offense. Game 2 of the series is scheduled for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Rocket Arena.
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