Ty Jerome scores 28 points in
playoff debut to lead Cavaliers to Game 1 victory
[April 21, 2025]
By JOE REEDY
CLEVELAND (AP) — Ty Jerome had to wait five years to play in his
first NBA playoff game.
On Sunday night, he made the most of the opportunity.
Jerome scored 16 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, and the
Cleveland Cavaliers rolled to a 121-100 victory over the Miami Heat
in the first game of the Eastern Conference first-round series.
“Solid. Solid Game 1," Jerome said.
Jerome had the third-most points in a Cavaliers playoff debut,
behind LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
Coach Kenny Atkinson didn't expect Jerome to have this type of
debut,
“I should (of expected it) because he’s kind of done it all year,”
Atkinson said.
Jerome also was the fourth player in franchise history to score at
least 28 points coming off the bench.
The game Sunday continued what has been a breakthrough season for
Jerome. The 6-foot-5 guard — who helped lead the University of
Virginia to an NCAA championship in 2019 — is in his sixth NBA
season but played in only two games last season due to a right ankle
injury.
Jerome played in a career-best 70 games during the regular season
and averaged 12.5 points, also a career high. Before the Cavaliers
took the floor, Jerome was named one of the finalists for the NBA's
Sixth Man of the Year award.
“Your back’s kind of against the wall. I didn’t really have a huge
body of work in the NBA add you kind of have one last shot in a way
to make it right,” Jerome said about his mentality going into the
season. “I had all that time off to reflect and do mental work and
see what was needed to improve on. Confidence and aggression was a
thing for me as well, especially.”
[to top of second column] |
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome (2) gestures to fans in the
second half in Game 1 of an NBA first-round playoff series against
the Miami Heat, Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue
Ogrocki)
Jerome is known as one of the more vocal bench
players on the Cavaliers. But on Sunday it was his shooting that did
the talking.
He was 10 of 15 from the field, going 5 of 8 on 3-pointers, and had
five rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes.
While Jerome's fourth-quarter shooting — he was 6 of 7 from the
field and made all three of his 3-point attempts — was the talk of
social media, his teammates were not surprised.
“I mean, this is who he’s been,” said Donovan Mitchell, who has
known Jerome since they were both 8 in New York. “It is full circle
to come back from being eight years old to my first basketball
teammate to now here we are. I know everybody’s gonna react like
this is a shock, but he’s been doing this for us all year.”
Atkinson's favorite play made by Jerome wasn't a basket. Instead, it
was a drive and pass to Jarrett Allen for a layup with 5:47
remaining that gave the Cavaliers a 104-90 lead.
“He got downhill and made that lefty pocket pass to (Allen) for the
layup,” Atkinson said. “They went zone and he kind of shot them out
of the zone, hitting two 3-pointers. He did it all tonight, and then
defensively smart in the right position. He turned the game for us.”
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
