The Cleveland Cavaliers were without seven players for their game against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, including star point guard Darius Garland (rest).

With Garland absent, Cleveland needed to put a new player into their starting lineup.

The Cavaliers ultimately decided on rookie forward Jaylon Tyson, who ended up making his second career NBA start. This decision paid off, as the Wine and Gold came away with a wire-to-wire 126-106 win over the Heat.

The 2024 first-round pick recorded four points, five rebounds, and four assists in 29 minutes of action. He also had one of the strongest positive impacts on the floor, as his +15 plus/minus was tied for the second-highest in the contest.

After the game, Cleveland Head Coach Kenny Atkinson was pleased when reflecting on Tyson’s performance.

“Really good,” Atkinson said. “We put him out there for defense and rebounding, and task accomplished. I think we debated starting Ty [Jerome] or him, and I think we just went with size, rebounding, defense. And played his role perfectly.”

This was Tyson’s first start since his historic first-ever NBA start back on Nov. 20 against the New Orleans Pelicans. On Wednesday night, he played a key role in a Cavaliers effort that outrebounded Miami 47-35 and forced 14 Heat turnovers to Cleveland’s seven.

Tyson could potentially see increased playing time with the Wine and Gold’s current wing injuries. Dean Wade (right knee bone bruise) is set to be re-evaluated in approximately two weeks, Isaac Okoro (right shoulder AC joint sprain) has missed Cleveland’s last seven games, and Caris LeVert (right wrist sprain) has missed the team’s last six contests.

Tyson and the Cavaliers will seek their third straight win when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night at 7 p.m.