The Cavaliers’ hearts sank when they saw a wide-open paint for Andrew Wiggins to hit an alley-oop game-winner. Cleveland had already faced plenty of setbacks, from Darius Garland’s third-quarter exit to Donovan Mitchell managing to nail a sensational 23-foot triple to tie the game in overtime despite a difficult shooting night. Yet the toughest blow came on the final play, when they didn’t have Kenny Atkinson on the sideline to call the defense to give out instructions.

The Cavs head coach lost his cool in the third quarter after a 20-2 free-throw disparity and said, “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that in all my years in the NBA.” However, his reaction saw Scott Foster assess a second technical foul, leading to an ejection. As is the case for an NBA player, Atkinson could be staring at a potential fine. But the experienced head coach doesn’t regret his actions.

“I let them know that I wasn’t pleased with that. And they tossed me for it, but I’ll stick with my uh my protest, and I felt like I had to stick up for my team. When it’s 20-2, when the disparity is that great. You got to stick up for your guys,” Kenny Atkinson said, defending his burst of emotions.

He might do the same again if he notices a similar pattern. However, Atkinson also knows how much his not being on the sidelines affects the Cavaliers. With just 0.4 seconds on the clock, maybe he would have advised the team to let the Heat settle for a jump shot. Instead, they man-marked, allowing Wiggins to roll into unlimited space under the rim.

“It’s torture. It’s torture. It’s like watching your son play, right? Like it’s your team and you want to run out, get on a walkie-talkie and tell the assistants what to do,” Kenny Atkinson said about not being there for the team. But the Cavaliers’ HC was fighting for his team. Hence, he isn’t necessarily upset about his reaction. And that wasn’t the sole reason the Cavaliers lost today.

Kenny Atkinson credits the Heat for their offense

A few months ago, the Cavaliers swept the Heat with a +122 point differential in their first-round series. Nobody in history had achieved that mark. A core reason for that was their ability to be defensively engaged and curb multiple threats. That strategy would help on nights like these.

Atkinson felt the Cavaliers relied on a lot of isolation plays, stalling their offense in the second quarter. The Heat outscored them 37-23. The Cavaliers’ three-point shooting volume didn’t yield success. They converted only 32.3% of their 65 attempts. So it was always going to come down to how they defended.

And that’s where the Cavaliers couldn’t show up tonight. “I felt like we never really could stop them, credit to them, they’re in our paint way too much… We never slowed them down from a defensive standpoint when you shoot 32% from three. You know, at some point you’re going to win a game like this on the road with your defense, and we didn’t do it,” Atkinson added.

The Heat scored 16 more points inside the paint in their overtime victory over the Cavaliers. Norman Powell added 33, regularly getting to the line. Mitchell, too, had a monstrous performance with 28 points, 15 boards, and 8 assists. However, when both sides are shaky in their offense, defense becomes all the more important.

Currently, the Cavaliers are giving up 117 points per game, five more than last season. But these could just be momentary lapses. The offense isn’t as fluent with Darius Garland missing a major chunk of the games. Once health returns, the Cavaliers have the reigning DPOY in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to position themselves appropriately to defend the paint.

Given the quality of this team, they can recover. But it’s also vital to address their shortcomings before it’s too late.