Mitchell scores 30 points, Cavaliers hold off Heat 121-112 to take 2-0 lead in NBA playoff series

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell delivered when the Cleveland Cavaliers needed him most.

After the Miami Heat seized momentum and appeared on the verge of possibly tying the series, Mitchell took over. He scored Cleveland's next eight points and the Cavaliers held on for a 121-112 victory on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

“I love the fact the game happened like this. We had to really find a way as a group and then we responded,” said Mitchell, who led Cleveland with 30 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter. “I kept trying to find the mismatch and make a play.”

It was the 27th career playoff game with at least 30 points for Mitchell, who also had six rebounds and six assists.

“He’s a superstar for a reason. It’s kind of like there is nothing you can do in the NBA sometimes when someone is hitting tough shots like that," said Miami's Davion Mitchell, who scored 18 points.

The Cavaliers had a 19-point lead with under 3 minutes remaining in the third quarter before the Heat made their run to get within 105-103 lead with 3:11 left.

Mitchell responded on the ensuing trip by driving and making a step-back floater to put the Cavs up by four.

After Jarett Allen made a steal on a bad pass by Miami's Nikola Jovic, Mitchell buried a 3-pointer to give momentum back to the Cavaliers, along with some breathing room.

“I’m proud of the guys for holding our composure. It helps when you have Donovan Mitchell. It was one of those superstar takes over games,” coach Kenny Atkinson said.

The top-seeded Cavaliers set an NBA playoff record with 11 3-pointers in the second quarter and had 22 for the game, tied for sixth most. Evan Mobley had 20 points and Darius Garland 19 for Cleveland.

Tyler Herro scored 33 points for Miami, which hosts Game 3 on Saturday afternoon.

“We lost the game. I don’t think there are any moral victories, to be honest. We can’t have lapses where we’re not fully engaged,” Herro said. “We’ve got to get that cleaned up or we’ll be down 3-0.”

Miami had a 16-7 lead before the Cavs rallied and went up 25-24 at the end of the first quarter.

Cleveland held a 33-30 lead before taking control with a 17-4 run that included five 3-pointers, with two apiece by Max Strus and Sam Merrill.

De'Andre Hunter's dunk with 2:33 remaining in the third quarter gave the Cavaliers a 93-74 advantage before the Heat made their charge with 10 straight points. That started a 25-8 run that saw the Heat get within a basket. Davion Mitchell scored 12 during the rally, with five points apiece by Herro and Nikola Jovic.

“We knew it was going to be a full game. When they threw that punch in the fourth quarter I think everyone locked in,” Mobley said.

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Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives against Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic, right, in the second half in Game 2 of an NBA first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) goes up for a dual in front of Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell (45) and center Kel'el Ware, center, in the first half in Game 2 of an NBA first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) shoots between Miami Heat's Tyler Herro (14), Haywood Highsmith (24), Bam Adebayo (13) and Nikola Jovic (5) in the second half in Game 2 of an NBA first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) gestures in the second half in Game 2 of an NBA first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) is defended by Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware (7) in the first half in Game 2 of an NBA first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) is defended by Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade, right, in the first half in Game 2 of an NBA first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome (2) congratulates teammate Sam Merrill (5) after Merrill hit a three point basket in the first half in Game 2 of an NBA first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware, left, dunks over Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) and forward Evan Mobley, right, in the first half in Game 2 of an NBA first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) reaches for a rebound between Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins, left, and center Bam Adebayo (13) in the first half in Game 2 of an NBA first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus (1) shouts in front of Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell (45) and forward Nikola Jovic (5) after hitting a three-point basket in the first half in Game 2 of an NBA first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nicaragua’s Interior Ministry said Saturday the country would release dozens of prisoners, as the United States ramped up pressure on leftist President Daniel Ortegaa week after it ousted former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

On Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua said Venezuela had taken an important step toward peace by releasing what it described as “political prisoners.” But it lamented that in Nicaragua, “more than 60 people remain unjustly detained or disappeared, including pastors, religious workers, the sick, and the elderly.”

On Saturday, the Interior Ministry said in a statement that “dozens of people who were in the National Penitentiary System are returning to their homes and families.”

It wasn’t immediately clear who was freed and under what conditions. Nicaragua’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The government has been carrying out an ongoing crackdown since mass social protests in 2018, that were violently repressed.

Nicaragua’s government has imprisoned adversaries, religious leaders, journalists and more, then exiled them, stripping hundreds of their Nicaraguan citizenship and possessions. Since 2018, it has shuttered more than 5,000 organizations, largely religious, and forced thousands to flee the country. Nicaragua’s government often accused critics and opponents of plotting against the government.

In recent years, the government has released hundreds of imprisoned political opponents, critics and activists. It stripped them of Nicaraguan citizenship and sent them to other countries like the U.S. and Guatemala. Observers have called it an effort to wash its hands of its opposition and offset international human rights criticism. Many of those Nicaraguans were forced into a situation of "statelessness."

Saturday on X, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs again slammed Nicaragua’s government. “Nicaraguans voted for a president in 2006, not for an illegitimate lifelong dynasty,” it said. “Rewriting the Constitution and crushing dissent will not erase the Nicaraguans’ aspirations to live free from tyranny.”

Danny Ramírez-Ayérdiz, executive-secretary of the Nicaraguan human rights organization CADILH, said he had mixed feelings about the releases announced Saturday.

“On the one hand, I’m glad. All political prisoners suffer some form of torture. But on the other hand, I know these people will continue to be harassed, surveilled and monitored by the police, and so will their families.”

Ramírez-Ayérdiz said the liberation of the prisoners is a response to pressure exerted by the United States. “There is surely a great deal of fear within the regime that the U.S. might completely dismantle it,” he said.

FILE - Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega waves after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro for a third term at the National Assembly in Caracas, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)