The Cleveland Cavaliers had one of their best wins of the season against the Miami Heat on Monday night.
The Cavs stormed back from a 19-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the Heat in overtime.
One of the team’s motivations came from head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who had a calculated message for his squad ahead of the final quarter of the game.
“Score don’t matter,” Bickerstaff said. “Just win this quarter.”
Bickerstaff, who just started his head coaching tenure with the Cavs after the All-Star break, has an encouraging 2-1 record so far.
The 40-year-old has an uncanny ability to connect with players and see the best in them. That skill was in full effect on Monday when he allowed rookie Kevin Porter Jr. to close out the game.
Porter Jr. had the best contest of his career on Monday night. The 19-year-old put up 30 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in 41 minutes of action.
Last week, Bickerstaff said he will be giving Porter Jr. a heavier workload for the second half of the season.
The No. 30 pick in the 2019 NBA draft is putting up 9.9 points, 3.2 boards and 2.0 assists per game this season.
However, his production has gone up in the last few months. As a matter of fact, he is averaging 14.3 points per game in the month of February.
The Cavs take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday evening.
