There’s greater than a month of regular-season basketball left to be performed this season, however one workforce has already clinched its spot within the 2025 playoffs. The Cleveland Cavaliers are formally within the high six, nevertheless it took a wild end for them to get there.
Main the Heat by three factors with 18.4 seconds remaining, Cleveland was a single cease away from victory. As a substitute, Duncan Robinson went up for a game-tying 3-pointer. Swish.
However there was an issue. In a particularly uncommon name below the circumstances, Robinson was referred to as out of bounds as his foot touched the road earlier than he went up with the shot. Robinson’s clutch make was wiped off of the board and Cleveland sank two free throws on the opposite finish to seal the 112-107 victory.
The decision will certainly rankle Warmth followers given their historical past with such calls. In Sport 7 of the 2022 Jap Convention finals towards the Boston Celtics, a Max Strus 3-pointer was taken off of the board in the same method. In a merciless coincidence, take a more in-depth take a look at who was guarding Robinson on this shot. That is proper, it was Strus, now a member of the Cavaliers.
The win is the twelfth straight for Cleveland. For many groups, this is able to characterize the very best stretch of a season. For Cleveland? It is enterprise as traditional. That is the third separate 12-game profitable streak the Cavs have had this season, becoming a member of the 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks as the one groups ever to win 12 or extra consecutive video games at the least 3 times in a season. That features their 15-0 begin to the season, tied for the second-best in league historical past.
At 52-10, Cleveland is on tempo to win 69 video games on the season. Solely three groups have ever completed so in league historical past: the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors and properly because the 1995-96 and 1996-97 Chicago Bulls.
The Cavaliers have been making historical past all season, so it feels becoming that they’d make a bit extra of it as they grow to be the primary workforce to clinch a playoff spot. With an eight-game lead over the Boston Celtics within the loss column within the Jap Convention with solely 20 video games remaining, they’re a close to lock to finally earn the No. 1 seed within the East and guarantee home-court benefit all through their push to return to the NBA Finals for the primary time since 2018.
