MIAMI — When you are the better team, the beauty is in the simplicity.

So Darius Garland, how do your Cleveland Cavaliers finish off the Miami Heat?

“Pick on Tyler Herro and take care of the ball,” the All-Star guard said following Wednesday night’s 121-112 Game 2 victory that put his team up 2-0 in this best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series. “Don’t play in tight spaces and pick on their weak defenders, go at them.”

That also has the beauty in the consistency for the Cavaliers, Cleveland with 121 points in each of the first two games, as the series now shifts to Kaseya Center for Saturday’s 1 p.m. Game 3.

By contrast, the challenge has been in the complexity for the Heat, with a lineup change in Game 2 and rotation alterations already in progress . . . with coach Erik Spoelstra sounding as if more could be on the way.

“It has been a couple of games where we’re right there and now we just have to figure out how to get it over the top,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat in each of the series’ first two games going down big early only to rally late. “It’s going to take more. It’s going to take collectively us digging deeper.

“And we have respect for who they are, what they can do. But we have to be better.”

With two days off before Game 2, it became apparent at the outset Wednesday night that Heat wheels were in motion, with Davion Mitchell inserted into the Game 2 starting lineup and Alec Burks shuffled completely out of the rotation. From there, there were minutes for Pelle Larsson and less of a role for Duncan Robinson, with Nikola Jovic later playing as closer instead of Andrew Wiggins.

Now, there are two more days for Spoelstra to get back into the laboratory.

The reality for the Heat amid the hope created by a finish Wednesday that had the Heat within two with 3:11 to play is that this postseason run has them at 2-2 since the end of the regular season, with victories against the sub-.500 Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks.

A straightforward approach in those games was all that was required. Against a top-seeded opponent 27 games better during the regular season, mediocrity translates only into misery.

“I don’t think there’s any moral victories in this, honestly,” said Herro, who led the Heat with 33 points Wednesday night. “But you can take some things, the positives from this and try to carry it over to Game 3.

“Again, we’ll watch film, put a game plan together, see what we can take from this game and carry over to the next. I thought we came out better. We had a better disposition on both sides, but we’re going to need that for a full 48 minutes. We can’t have lapses where we’re not fully engaged.”

By contrast, the Cavaliers can, because they have a depth of talent that comes at you in waves, with All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell leading them Wednesday night with 30 points, including 17 in the decisive fourth quarter.

As for attempting to seize upon Herro’s defense, that was no different than the series opener. But what was different in Game 2 was adding Davion Mitchell’s defensive disposition from the outset.

“It was a couple different factors with that,” Spoelstra said of the lineup change. “We wanted to be able to organize ourselves offensively at the start a little bit better. Get Tyler off the ball, Wiggs off the ball. Then obviously some defensive presence. (Mitchell’s) competitive spirit on the ball was very good all night.”

As for the Cavaliers’ Mitchell in this D. Mitchell vs. D. Mitchell battle, Wednesday night’s challenge was embraced.

“I love the fact that the game happened like this,” Donovan Mitchell said. “I’d much rather this than win by 20, especially going into an environment like we are in a few days. We had to really find a way as a group.”

Now the Heat have to find a way, even as they continue to try to find their way to a formula to break through and push this series beyond Monday night’s Game 4 at Kaseya Center.

“Get home, get a great cooked meal and you go out and try to get you two at the crib,” said center Bam Adebayo.