MIAMI — As the Miami Heat pulled off an overtime stunner against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night, 140-138, the victory was capped off by an explosive buzzer-beater dunk by Andrew Wiggins.
With the Heat getting revenge on the Cavs after last season’s playoff sweep, this quality win was especially sweet. The key personnel involved shared insights on how the game-winning play was drawn up and executed.
The game seemed destined to stretch into double overtime after Donovan Mitchell hit a tough three-pointer. However, Miami had other plans. With just 0.4 seconds left on the clock, Nikola Jovic delivered a perfect pass over the rim. Donovan Mitchell set a crucial screen, and Norman Powell faked out the Cleveland defense to free up Wiggins for the decisive bucket.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra revealed that the play had been in the team’s playbook for four years, titled “CQ,” named after assistant coach Chris Quinn, who originally drew it up. “When it got to that point, [Quinn] said, ‘Hey, we should run that.’ I said, ‘You know what? There’s no better person than to diagram it than the one who came up with the dang thing,’” Spoelstra said.
“It worked beautifully. I thought [Powell] sold it really well. Then [Wiggins] made a great cut, and [Jovic] just put it right on the lip of the rim. Couldn’t have made a better pass.”
“It was a classic game, a lot of fun to be a part of. It’s better when you get the win. It was just play after play. I felt like we were making a ton of plays, but they were scoring, making plays, or getting offensive rebounds and knocking down big shots, but we showed some grit.”
### Wiggins Credits Team Effort
Andrew Wiggins, the star of the show with 23 points on Monday night, credited everyone involved in executing the game-winning play. “The coaches drew up a great play. [Jovic] gave me an amazing, perfect pass. [Mitchell] got me open with a great screen, and I was there to finish the job,” Wiggins said.
“I’m happy that we could get this win. It was a hard-fought victory, and hopefully, we can do the same when we play them again in a couple of days. I knew I was so open; I was just focused on catching the ball and putting it in.”
### Standout Performances Beyond Wiggins
Norman Powell kept the Heat afloat with a team-high 33 points despite Miami missing key players Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.
Other notable contributions came from Jaime Jaquez Jr., who scored 22 points, grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds, and recorded seven assists. Kel’el Ware also made a significant impact, posting a career-high 20 rebounds alongside 14 points.
### Nikola Jovic’s Crucial Role
Following a career game on Saturday, Nikola Jovic continued his momentum with eight points, eight rebounds, and four assists against Cleveland—including the pivotal assist on the buzzer-beater dunk.
Jovic detailed the huddle discussions and matchup adjustments before the final play. Initially, Evan Mobley was assigned to guard him on the inbound, but the Cavs switched to Donovan Mitchell.
“As we got to the huddle, I kind of expected I was going to throw the pass,” Jovic explained. “At first, I was confused because Coach Spo just handed the board to [Quinn]. We got out of the huddle, and they didn’t know who was guarding who. First, they put Mobley on me.”
“I thought that was good for them because the pass would be hard to throw. Then, when they switched and put Donovan on me, I thought, ‘Okay, well, I got a smaller guy I can throw the pass over.’ When I saw they put Mobley on Jaime and looked at [Wiggins], I knew it was going to work.”
“So as soon as they screened for him, I knew I had to throw it perfectly at the rim to give him just enough time to put it in.”
### Heat Continue Home Dominance
The Heat improve to 7-4 overall and remain undefeated at home this season with a perfect 5-0 record at the Kaseya Center. They now look to extend their winning streak to four games and six consecutive home victories when they face the Cavaliers again on Wednesday.
With teamwork, strategic plays, and grit, Miami is showing it’s ready to build momentum and push forward this NBA season.
https://clutchpoints.com/nba/miami-heat/heat-news-erik-spoelstra-reveals-how-andrew-wiggins-game-winning-dunk-vs-cavs-was-4-years-in-the-making
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