CLEVELAND -- Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, Darius Garland had 10 assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers survived some sloppiness in the final two minutes to win their 12th straight game 112-107 over the banged-up Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
With the victory, the Cavs became the first NBA team to clinch a playoff berth. They needed only 62 games to do so, which is second only to the franchise record for an 82-game season of 60 games set by the 2008-09 Cavs, according to ESPN Research.
The Cavs also became the second team in NBA history to record three 12-game win streaks in a season, joining the 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks.
"It's special. This is really special," coach Kenny Atkinson said. "We know what we're going to be judged on but we have to enjoy a season like this."
The win wasn't easy as the Heat, who were missing several rotational players, led 107-106 with 2:55 left. But Miami didn't score again, and Duncan Robinson's apparent tying 3-pointer with 17.4 seconds left was waved off because he stepped out of bounds.
Bam Adebayo scored a season-high 34 points for Miami, which was without leading scorer Tyler Herro. It was Adebayo's second game with 30 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 60% shooting this season.
The Heat were already missing Jaime Jaquez Jr. (ankle sprain), Nikola Jovic (broken hand), Kel'el Ware (knee sprain) and Andrew Wiggins (ankle sprain) before Herro came down with a head cold in the past 24 hours.
Evan Mobley and De'Andre Hunter added 16 points apiece for Cleveland.
Miami's Kevin Love played his first game in Cleveland since signing with the Heat two years ago. The 36-year-old Love received a rousing ovation from Cavs fans, who will never forget his major role in helping the team win the 2016 NBA title. Love was saluted with a video tribute during a timeout in the first quarter.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.