Cleveland and Miami meet in battle of top defenses

Updated Jan. 30, 2023 2:02 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Miami Heat (28-23, sixth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (31-21, fifth in the Eastern Conference)

Cleveland; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat square off in a matchup between the NBA's top two defenses.

The Cavaliers are 18-9 in conference games. Cleveland scores 111.5 points while outscoring opponents by 4.6 points per game.

The Heat have gone 12-14 against Eastern Conference opponents. Miami is the worst team in the Eastern Conference scoring averaging 108.6 points per game while shooting 45.3%.

The teams square off for the second time this season. The Cavaliers won the last matchup 113-87 on Nov. 21. Darius Garland scored 25 points to help lead the Cavaliers to the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS: Donovan Mitchell is scoring 27.9 points per game and averaging 3.9 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Garland is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Cleveland.

Kyle Lowry is averaging 12.4 points and 5.4 assists for the Heat. Bam Adebayo is averaging 20.4 points over the last 10 games for Miami.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cavaliers: 5-5, averaging 111.4 points, 39.9 rebounds, 28.0 assists, 7.4 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 49.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.4 points per game.

Heat: 7-3, averaging 108.3 points, 44.2 rebounds, 23.1 assists, 9.4 steals and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.0 points.

INJURIES: Cavaliers: Dylan Windler: out (ankle).

Heat: Nikola Jovic: out (back), Omer Yurtseven: out (ankle), Duncan Robinson: out (finger).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.