Miami @ Cleveland Game Overview

Cleveland extended its third double-digit winning streak of the season with a 139-117 road victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.

Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points to lead the NBA-best Cavaliers, while Jarrett Allen added 25 points and 17 rebounds. Cleveland had seven players in double figures and moved 41 games over .500.

At this point, the Cavaliers could be excused for choosing to prioritize rest in the final weeks of the regular season. Instead, coach Kenny Atkinson is taking nothing for granted.

"There's almost, like, right now, a sense of urgency," Atkinson said. "We're not going to wait until three games before the playoffs and say, 'Oh, man, now we've gotta really focus.' Our playoff focus starts now. Our playoff prep starts now, and I think that keeps guys motivated, too."

Cleveland will be looking for a strong start on Wednesday after having to rally from double-digit deficits in each of its past three games.

The Cavaliers trailed by as many as 15 points on Tuesday before outscoring the Bulls 43-23 in the fourth quarter. Chicago coach Billy Donovan believes Cleveland has earned its status as one of the top title contenders.

"I think they're very legitimate because if you look at their team, they're not a one-trick pony," Donovan said. "There's a lot of ways they can beat you.

"There's the (outside) shooting, but they also offensive rebound really well and they can get to the free-throw line, so they can generate and manufacture other opportunities to score if they're not shooting it great. Defensively, you have to have different things you can do just based on matchups. You're going against dilemmas, so to speak. They can match up against team strengths. They can do a lot of different things. There's a lot they do at a very elite level."

Cleveland split its first two meetings against the Heat this season, falling 122-113 at Miami on Dec. 8 before registering a 126-106 road victory on Jan. 29.

Miami was able to beat the visiting Washington Wizards 106-90 on Monday despite having just nine available players.

Bam Adebayo logged 19 points and 15 rebounds in the victory to break Miami's career record for double-doubles with 222. He passed the mark held by Rony Seikaly.

The Heat played without Kel'el Ware (sprained left knee), Andrew Wiggins (sprained right ankle), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (sprained right ankle), Davion Mitchell (left quadriceps contusion) and Nikola Jovic (broken right hand).

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra was pleased that his team held the Wizards to 36.9 percent shooting.

"This is a resilient group," Spoelstra said. "There's great competitive character with this group. We brought the appropriate disposition and urgency."

Ware, Wiggins, Jaquez and Jovic will remain out on Wednesday, while Mitchell was listed as questionable.

The recent wave of injuries has created more playing time for rookie guard Pelle Larsson, who scored a career-high 16 points and added four rebounds and five assists in 28 minutes against Washington.

"He brought that energy and extra oomph that carried over to everybody else," Spoelstra said. "At key moments, he had his imprint, the deflections, the timely cuts. He has bottled-up energy. He wants to be out there. He feels he can help. It's inspiring."

--Field Level Media