Miami Heat vs Cleveland Cavaliers Box Score on Jan 02, 2019

Josh Richardson scored a game-high 24 points and Dion Waiters played his first game in more than a year as the Miami Heat won their fourth straight road game, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-92 on Wednesday night.

On a night of comebacks, Waiters, a shooting guard who had not played since Dec. 22, 2017, made perhaps the biggest splash. He made the first shot he attempted -- a 3-pointer in the second quarter -- and finished with seven points in 11 minutes.

Another comeback was made by Cavs starting forward Tristan Thompson, who had not played since Dec. 10 due to a foot injury. He started hot by scoring eight points on 4-for-5 shooting in the first quarter and finished with a team-high 14 points in 23 minutes.

Patrick McCaw, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard who won two NBA titles while starting 30 games for the Golden State Warriors over the past two years, made his Cavaliers debut by scoring two points in 18 minutes off the bench. McCaw had declined a Warriors contract and signed with Cleveland on Dec. 28.

Finally, forward James Johnson returned to the Heat starting lineup after missing Sunday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He scored 11 points against Cleveland.

Besides the comebacks, there were no mysteries in Wednesday's game. Miami outrebounded Cleveland 47-22. The Heat also shot 51.2 percent from the floor, including 16-for-31 on 3-pointers (51.6 percent).

The Heat, at 18-18, are one win away from being above .500 for the first time since Oct. 27, when they were 3-2.

Cleveland, which has the worst record in the NBA at 8-30, lost its seventh consecutive game.

The Cavs led 23-22 at the end of the first quarter, but Miami controlled the second period and took a 58-43 lead into halftime.

Richardson's 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer gave Miami a 93-73 lead, and the game was never in doubt in the fourth.

--Field Level Media