On the first night of a back-to-back, short-handed Cleveland crushed Miami, 126-106, inside the Kaseya Center — a figurative dungeon for Cleveland over the last 15 years.

An argument could be made that this one was over on Dec. 8, when the Miami Heat dared defeat the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers. With the Cavaliers back at Kaseya Center on Wednesday night, Cleveland made clear which team stands dominant atop the Eastern Conference .

Against a Miami Heat team that gave a healthy Cavaliers team trouble, one would assume that they could be in trouble. However, pregame worries were quickly simmered as the Cavaliers came out strong. Donovan Mitchell scored 12 of his 34 points in the first quarter and quickly put the Heat on their heels early on.