CLEVELAND (AP) — Ty Jerome had to wait five years to play in his first NBA playoff game.
On Sunday night, he made the most of the opportunity.
Jerome scored 16 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled to a 121-100 victory over the Miami Heat in the first game of the Eastern Conference first-round series.
“Solid. Solid Game 1," Jerome said.
Jerome had the third-most points in a Cavaliers playoff debut, behind LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
Coach Kenny Atkinson didn't expect Jerome to have this type of debut,
“I should (of expected it) because he’s kind of done it all year,” Atkinson said.
Jerome also was the fourth player in franchise history to score at least 28 points coming off the bench.
The game Sunday continued what has been a breakthrough season for Jerome. The 6-foot-5 guard — who helped lead the University of Virginia to an NCAA championship in 2019 — is in his sixth NBA season but played in only two games last season due to a right ankle injury.
Jerome played in a career-best 70 games during the regular season and averaged 12.5 points, also a career high. Before the Cavaliers took the floor, Jerome was named one of the finalists for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award.
“Your back’s kind of against the wall. I didn’t really have a huge body of work in the NBA add you kind of have one last shot in a way to make it right,” Jerome said about his mentality going into the season. “I had all that time off to reflect and do mental work and see what was needed to improve on. Confidence and aggression was a thing for me as well, especially.”
Jerome is known as one of the more vocal bench players on the Cavaliers. But on Sunday it was his shooting that did the talking.
He was 10 of 15 from the field, going 5 of 8 on 3-pointers, and had five rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes.
While Jerome's fourth-quarter shooting — he was 6 of 7 from the field and made all three of his 3-point attempts — was the talk of social media, his teammates were not surprised.
“I mean, this is who he’s been,” said Donovan Mitchell, who has known Jerome since they were both 8 in New York. “It is full circle to come back from being eight years old to my first basketball teammate to now here we are. I know everybody’s gonna react like this is a shock, but he’s been doing this for us all year.”
Atkinson's favorite play made by Jerome wasn't a basket. Instead, it was a drive and pass to Jarrett Allen for a layup with 5:47 remaining that gave the Cavaliers a 104-90 lead.
“He got downhill and made that lefty pocket pass to (Allen) for the layup,” Atkinson said. “They went zone and he kind of shot them out of the zone, hitting two 3-pointers. He did it all tonight, and then defensively smart in the right position. He turned the game for us.”
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Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome, left, shoots over Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro, front, in the second half in Game 1 of an NBA first-round playoff series, Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome (2) celebrates in front of teammate Sam Merrill in the second half in Game 1 of an NBA first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat, Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome (2) gestures to fans in the second half in Game 1 of an NBA first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat, Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranians could call abroad on mobile phones Tuesday for the first time since communications were halted during a crackdown on nationwide protests in which activists said at least 646 people have been killed.
Several people in Tehran were able to call The Associated Press and speak to a journalist there. The AP bureau in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was unable to call those numbers back. The witnesses said SMS text messaging still was down and that internet users in Iran could connect to government-approved websites locally but nothing abroad.
The witnesses gave a brief glimpse into life on the streets of the Iranian capital over the four and a half days of being cut off from the world. They described seeing a heavy security presence in central Tehran.
Anti-riot police officers, wearing helmets and body armor, carried batons, shields, shotguns and tear gas launchers. They stood watch at major intersections. Nearby, the witnesses saw members of the Revolutionary Guard's all-volunteer Basij force, who similarly carried firearms and batons. Security officials in plainclothes were visible in public spaces as well.
Several banks and government offices were burned during the unrest, they said. ATMs had been smashed and banks struggled to complete transactions without the internet, the witnesses added.
However, shops were open, though there was little foot traffic in the capital. Tehran's Grand Bazaar, where the demonstrations began Dec. 28, was to open Tuesday. However, a witness described speaking to multiple shopkeepers who said the security forces ordered them to reopen no matter what. Iranian state media had not acknowledged that order.
The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
Many remain concerned about a possible military strike by the U.S., even as President Donald Trump has said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington.
“My customers talk about Trump’s reaction while wondering if he plans a military strike against the Islamic Republic,” said shopkeeper Mahmoud, who gave just his first name out of concerns for his safety. “I don’t expect Trump or any other foreign country cares about the interests of Iranians.”
Reza, a taxi driver who also gave just his first name, said protests also remain front of mind for many.
“People — particularly young ones — are hopeless but they talk about continuing the protests," he said.
Meanwhile, it appeared that security service personnel were searching for Starlink terminals as people in northern Tehran reported authorities raiding apartment buildings with satellite dishes. While satellite television dishes are illegal, many in the capital have them in their homes and officials broadly had given up on enforcing the law in recent years.
On the streets, people also could be seen challenging plainclothes security officials, who were stopping passersby at random.
State television also read a statement about mortuary and morgue services being free — a signal some likely charged high fees for the release of bodies amid the crackdown.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to the Qatar-funded satellite news network Al Jazeera in an interview aired Monday night, said he continued to communicate with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
The communication “continued before and after the protests and are still ongoing," Araghchi said. However, “Washington’s proposed ideas and threats against our country are incompatible.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran’s public rhetoric diverges from the private messaging the administration has received from Tehran in recent days.
“I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages,” Leavitt said. “However, with that said, the president has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.”
Meanwhile, pro-government demonstrators flooded the streets Monday in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, which appeared to number in the tens of thousands, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Others cried out, “Death to the enemies of God!” Iran’s attorney general has warned that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an “enemy of God,” a death-penalty charge.
Trump announced Monday that countries doing business with Iran will face 25% tariffs from the United States. Trump announced the tariffs in a social media posting, saying they would be “effective immediately.”
It was action against Iran for the protest crackdown from Trump, who believes exacting tariffs can be a useful tool in prodding friends and foes on the global stage to bend to his will.
Brazil, China, Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are among economies that do business with Tehran.
Trump said Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
Iran, through the country’s parliamentary speaker, warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if Washington uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,700 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the latest death toll early Tuesday. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 512 of the dead were protesters and 134 were security force members.
With the internet down in Iran, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government hasn’t offered overall casualty figures.
This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)
A picture of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is set alight by protesters outside the Iranian Embassy in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media shows protesters dancing and cheering around a bonfire as they take to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
FILE - Protesters march on a bridge in Tehran, Iran, on Dec. 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency via AP, File)
