Heat Too Much For Cleveland

April 19, 1999 / 11:15 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Jamal Mashburn, Dan Majerle and Alonzo Mourning took turns leading the Heat over the Cavaliers on Monday night.

Mashburn turned on the offense with 23 points, Dan Majerle turned back the clock with a season-high 22 and Alonzo Mourning turned back nine Cleveland shots to tie his team record for blocks in a 94-87 win.

Miami moved into a tie in the loss column with first-place Orlando in the Atlantic Division. Cleveland fell one game behind Philadelphia in the battle for the seventh position in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Related Links

More NBA coverage:

"We're not looking at Orlando until we play them," Heat coach Pat Riley said of a much-anticipated matchup with the Magic on Thursday night.

Mashburn accumulated eight points on a series of mid-range jumpers during a 13-6 run early in the third quarter to spark the Heat to a 62-48 lead.

Majerle closed the quarter with a display of long-range shooting prowess by hitting four shots from more than 22 feet and scoring 13 of Miami's final 15 points as the Heat took a 72-66 advantage into the final quarter.

"It was a flashback to 1993, I guess," Majerle said in reference to when he was among the NBA leaders in 3-point shooting while with the Phoenix Suns. "I missed the first one, then hit the next two and got some confidence."

Shawn Kemp scored 32 points for Cleveland, which got as close as 92-87 before the Heat's Terry Porter hit two free throws with 19.9 seconds to play. Kemp made 14 of a career-high 29 shots.

Kemp was taken to the Cleveland Clinic after the game to have treatment for an inflamed bursa sac in his right elbow. He is listed as probable for Cleveland's game Wednesday night at Miami. Kemp hurt the elbow in a collision with Chicago's Ron Harper last Wednesday night. Harper suffered a broken nose.

Majerle shot 8-of-11 from the field, including 5-of-6 fro 3-point range. Mourning had nine blocks for the second time this season. He blocked nine April 3 against New Jersey.

"Most of the time, blocks come about because of your teammates," Mourning explained. "They force guys into off-balance shots and I come over from the weak side to help. Blocking your own man's shot, now that's tough. You get into foul trouble that way."

Kemp had 13 points in the first quarter, which ended with Miami ahead 25-24.

The Heat maintained control in the second quarter by hitting all 10 of its free throws while the Cavs did not go to the line. Miami led at halftime, 46-41.

Miami outscored the Cavs 27-10 from the line overall.

"Dan Majerle was terrific," Cavs coach Mike Fratello said. "As for our situation, it is about the same as six teams. You can be in (the playoffs), you can be out. You can be in fifth place, sixth, seventh, eighth. It's changing every day."

Notes: The Cavs will play the Heat twice more in the next seven days. ... Kemp scored at least 20 points for a seventh straight game, the longest streak by a Cavalier since Brad Daugherty did it Feb. 21 through March 2, 1992. ... Riley got his 941st NBA coaching win, three behind former Cavs coach Bill Fitch for second place all-time. ... Miami was without veteran Keith Askins, who was suspended one game and fined $5,000 earlier in the day by the NBA for a flagrant elbow against Indiana's Antonio Davis on Sunday. ... Cleveland fell to 0-8 when an opponent shoots at least 50 percent from the field.