Cavaliers hold off Heat 112-107 to extend winning streak to 12 and clinch playoff spot

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, Darius Garland had 10 assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers survived some sloppiness in the final two minutes to win their 12th straight game, 112-107 over the banged-up Miami Heat on Wednesday night.

With the win, the Cavs became the first team to clinch a playoff berth.

It wasn't easy as the Heat, who were missing several rotational players, led 107-106 with 2:55 left. But Miami didn't score again and Duncan Robinson's apparent tying 3-pointer with 17.4 seconds left was waved off because he stepped out of bounds.

Bam Adebayo scored a season-high 34 points for Miami, which was without leading scorer Tyler Herro.

The Heat were already missing Jaime Jaquez Jr. (ankle sprain), Nikola Jovic (broken hand), Kel’el Ware (knee sprain) and Andrew Wiggins (ankle sprain) before Herro came down with a head cold in the past 24 hours.

Evan Mobley and De'Andre Hunter added 16 points apiece for Cleveland.

Heat: Herro's absence forced Miami to operate differently on offense and limited coach Erik Spoelstra's depth. However, he still had Adebayo and the three-time All-Star made all nine free throws and added 12 rebounds in 38 minutes.

Cavaliers: Cleveland's execution was poor down the stretch. Mitchell had two turnovers in the final two minutes.

Miami's Kevin Love played his first game in Cleveland since signing with the Heat two years ago. The 36-year-old Love received a rousing ovation from Cavs fans, who'll never forget his major role in helping the team win the 2016 NBA title. Love was saluted with a video tribute during a timeout in the first quarter.

Cleveland is one of just seven teams to have three double-digit winning streaks in the same season.

The Heat host Minnesota on Friday, the first of five straight home games. The Cavaliers are in Charlotte on Friday.

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Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus (1) shoots over Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier (2) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley, right, shoots over Miami Heat forward Kevin Love, left, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Miami Heat forward Kevin Love (42) gestures to the crowd after a video tribute and introduction in the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson (9) fouls Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade (32) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Miami Heat forward Kyle Anderson (20) shoots as Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill, center, defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome (2) drives past Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith (24) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome (2) shoots in front of Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith (24) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) grabs a rebound in front of teammate Ty Jerome (2) and Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell (45) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter (12) shoots as Miami Heat forward Duncan Robinson (55) defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) dunks between Miami Heat forward Duncan Robinson (55) and forward Haywood Highsmith (24) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) shoots in front of Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13 in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) goes to the basket past Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson, right, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

NEW YORK (AP) — Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner.

Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his “full support.” Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.

Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street in addition to the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and have supported Trump's second-term agenda. Banks are making the argument that such a plan would most hurt poor people, at a time of economic concern, by curtailing or eliminating credit lines, driving them to high-cost alternatives like payday loans or pawnshops.

“We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Researchers who studied Trump’s campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.

About 195 million people in the United States had credit cards in 2024 and were assessed $160 billion in interest charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than ever, to the tune of about $1.23 trillion, according to figures from the New York Federal Reserve for the third quarter last year.

Further, Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s. That’s significantly higher than a decade ago, when the average credit card interest rate was roughly 12%.

The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.

Capital One got little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nation’s largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed to Trump's proposal.

“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.

Bank lobbyists have long argued that lowering interest rates on their credit card products would require the banks to lend less to high-risk borrowers. When Congress enacted a cap on the fee that stores pay large banks when customers use a debit card, banks responded by removing all rewards and perks from those cards. Debit card rewards only recently have trickled back into consumers' hands. For example, United Airlines now has a debit card that gives miles with purchases.

The U.S. already places interest rate caps on some financial products and for some demographics. The Military Lending Act makes it illegal to charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product. The national regulator for credit unions has capped interest rates on credit union credit cards at 18%.

Credit card companies earn three streams of revenue from their products: fees charged to merchants, fees charged to customers and the interest charged on balances. The argument from some researchers and left-leaning policymakers is that the banks earn enough revenue from merchants to keep them profitable if interest rates were capped.

"A 10% credit card interest cap would save Americans $100 billion a year without causing massive account closures, as banks claim. That’s because the few large banks that dominate the credit card market are making absolutely massive profits on customers at all income levels," said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, who wrote the research on the industry's impact of Trump's proposal last year.

There are some historic examples that interest rate caps do cut off the less creditworthy to financial products because banks are not able to price risk correctly. Arkansas has a strictly enforced interest rate cap of 17% and evidence points to the poor and less creditworthy being cut out of consumer credit markets in the state. Shearer's research showed that an interest rate cap of 10% would likely result in banks lending less to those with credit scores below 600.

The White House did not respond to questions about how the president seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long."

Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trump’s campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.

Hours before Trump's post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much higher credit card fees.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.

Seung Min Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, Jan. 9, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Visa and Mastercard credit cards are shown in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)