Miami has essentially been alternating between small winning streaks and small losing streaks throughout the season. The Heat have lost two straight games on four occasions, including earlier this week in their road losses to Toronto and Washington. They have also won two straight games on three occasions, so they find themselves two games under the .500 mark heading into this game. Miami was a 7.5-point underdog in its trip to Washington, as it was severely undermanned. The Heat were down to seven healthy players and were forced to dress an injured Gabe Vincent just to meet the NBA requirement that eight players have to be in uniform.

They were without their top three scorers in Jimmy Butler (knee), Tyler Herro (ankle) and Bam Adebayo (knee). Butler has already been ruled out for this game and the next one, but Adebayo and Herro are both questionable. Herro has missed six straight games with his ankle issue after averaging 19.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists to open the season. Outside of those three players, Max Strus is scoring 15.5 points and Kyle Lowry is adding 14.2. The Heat rank No. 21 in the NBA offensively (110.0) and are facing a Cleveland defense that is No. 10 (110.1).

Cleveland got off to a fantastic start to the season, losing its opener before rattling off an eight-game winning streak. The Cavaliers have come back to earth since then, losing five in a row before finally snapping that skid with their double-overtime win over Charlotte on Friday. Their five losses came against the Clippers, Kings, Warriors, Timberwolves and Bucks, with four of those setbacks coming away from home. Guard Darius Garland poured in 41 points while Donovan Mitchell added 34 in the win over the Hornets. They blew a 10-point lead in the final minute of regulation before recovering in the overtime periods.

All-Star center Jarrett Allen had missed two games with an unspecified illness, but he returned to action on Friday. Allen scored 20 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked four shots. Evan Mobley added an interior presence, scoring 21 points and grabbing a career-high 18 boards. Mitchell leads the way with 31.2 points, 5.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds. Garland is adding 23.6 points and 7.8 dimes. Cleveland has been one of the top offensive teams in the NBA, ranked eighth with 115.9 points per game. It is facing a Miami defense that is No. 9, allowing 109.9 points.