The Cleveland Cavaliers (49 - 27) defeated the Miami Heat (34 - 41) 114 - 88 on Thursday at the Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland seized control from the early going Thursday, but its road to victory got significantly easier when Dwayne Wade left the game midway through the second quarter. Wade slipped and took an awkward fall, suffering a bruised left knee that sidelined him for the remainder of the game. Cleveland allowed Miami to get as close as 10 points in the third before completely pulling away. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving each poured in 23 points to help notch the Cavaliers' 17th consecutive home win. Miami was already a banged up unit coming into Thursday's game, but losing Dwayne Wade for any amount of time could put its playoff chances in serious jeopardy. Thursday's loss drops Miami to the eighth spot in the East, with teams like Boston, Charlotte, and Indiana all within striking distance. Wade's injury occured to the same knee that he had drained last Saturday, leaving his status ahead of Saturday's game in Detroit in question. The Heat did have a key player return to the starting lineup Thursday with Hassan Whiteside getting the nod at center. Whiteside finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. The Heat have a couple games with major playoff implications on the horizon with matchups against the Pacers and Hornets following Saturday's game. Cleveland did n't have its full complement of players available for this game, but its reserves rose to the occasion. Kevin Love sat out with a sore back, but Tristan Thompson was a difference maker with his increased playing time. Thompson pulled down 15 rebounds to go with eight points and Iman Shumpert had one of his best games as a Cavalier, pouring in 17 points on 7 - of - 12 shooting. Cleveland will have a couple days off before returning to action Sunday against Chicago.
["TeamStat(G,'Cavaliers') has 27 Losses ,has 114 Total points ,has 23 Points in 4th quarter ,has 49 Wins ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Heat') has 41 Losses ,has 88 Total points ,has 34 Points in 4th quarter ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Hassan Whiteside') has 17 Assists ,has 8 Blocks ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'LeBron James') has 23 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Kyrie Irving') has 23 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Iman Shumpert') has 1 Assists ,has 1 Blocks ,has 12 Defensive rebounds ,has 7 Field goals attempted ,has 17 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Tristan Thompson') has 1 Assists ,has 1 Blocks ,has 8 Defensive rebounds ,has 15 Field goals attempted ,has 1 Field goals made ."]