On Wednesday, April 23, the Miami Heat (37-45) and Cleveland Cavaliers (64-18) are all set to square off from Rocket Arena in Cleveland for Game 2 of the First Round in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
Cleveland won Game 1, 121-100, behind Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland combining for 57 points. The second and third-quarter margins were a combined +1 for Cleveland, but the Cavaliers used a massive +7 first-quarter and +13 fourth-quarter to pull away.
The Heat are currently 17-23 on the road with a point differential of 1, while the Cavaliers have a 7-3 record in their last ten games at home. We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Heat vs. Cavaliers live today
- Date: Wednesday, April 23, 2025
- Time: 7:30PM EST
- Site: Rocket Arena
- City: Cleveland, OH
- Network/Streaming: NBA TV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day NBA schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game.
Game odds for Heat vs. Cavaliers
The latest odds as of Wednesday:
- Odds: Heat (+496), Cavaliers (-694)
- Spread: Cavaliers -12
- Over/Under: 212 points
That gives the Heat an implied team point total of 104.99, and the Cavaliers 111.24.
Want to know which sportsbook is offering the best lines for every game on the NBA calendar? Check out the NBC Sports’ Live Odds tool to get all the latest updated info from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM & more!
Expert picks & predictions for Wednesday’s Heat vs. Cavaliers game
Rotoworld Best Bet
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) likes De’Andre Hunter to go Over 8.5 Points and Haywood Highsmith to go Under 5.5 Points:
‘De’Andre Hunter was an afterthought in Game 1 going 0-for-4 from the field for 0 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist in 16 minutes. Albeit the game was a blowout for most of his minutes, you’d still like to see more from the 27-year-old. I think we do see more minutes and shots in Game 2 after his performance in Game 1 is a bit of a wake-up call.
Haywood Highsmith was a spark for a few minutes in Game 1, but his efficient 3-for-4 shooting performance is not sustainable. In fact, I’d argue he more than likely doesn’t take four-plus shots in Game 2 as his calling card is defense and rebounding. His points prop has gone down from 6.5 to 5.5 despite his seven-point performance hitting the Over in Game 1. I think Haywood is a good zig-zag bet tonight, so I am going Under.”
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s Heat & Cavaliers game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the Cleveland Cavaliers on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Miami Heat at +12.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 212.
Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions pagefrom NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar!
Important stats, trends & insights to know ahead of Heat vs. Cavaliers on Wednesday
- The Cavaliers have won 4 of their last 5 matchups against Eastern Conference Southeast Division teams
- 8 of the Heat’s last 10 games (80%) have gone over the Total
- The Cavaliers covered the spread in 60% of their regular season games (49-33-0)
- The Over is 31-24 in the Heat’s matchups against Eastern Conference teams this season
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
– Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
– Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
– Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
– Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
