Observations and other notes of interest from Friday night’s 117-105 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers:

— Markieff Morris again was on the court pregame, continuing his drill work with assistant coach Caron Butler.

— That work had come with Morris awaiting NBA clearance to return from the neck injury sustained in his Nov. 8 run-in with Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.

— That clearance apparently has now come.

— Although the Heat declined comment Friday, the Associated Press reported that Morris can now move on to the next step of the process.

— According to a source aware of the situation, “It’s progressing along but not final yet.”

— The Heat schedule eases after Saturday night’s home game against the Timberwolves, with only two games over the following eight days.

— Which finally would allow for ample practice time.

— With the Heat finally whole.

— All as the rotation plot would thicken.

— With Jimmy Butler back from the sinus congestion that had him out for Wednesday night’s loss to the Suns, it had the Heat back to their primary starting lineup of Butler, Bam Adebayo, P.J. Tucker, Duncan Robinson and Kyle Lowry.

— The Heat’s 9-0 start matched their best start this season before the opponent scored. Also 9-0 on Jan. 26 vs. Knicks.

— Cleveland did not score until a Heat defensive 3-seconds violation, converting that free throw.

— But the Cavaliers then began hunting defensive matchups against Robinson.

— And thriving in those matchups.

— Including three first-half fouls for Robinson.

— Tyler Herro again played as sixth man.

— Followed in order by Dewayne Dedmon, Victor Oladipo and then Max Strus in the Caleb Martin minutes.

— Martin was sidelined after hyperextending his left knee in Wednesday night’s loss.

— Martin had been listed as questionable earlier in the day.

— Oladipo’s minutes again came alongside Herro and Lowry.

— Making the three-guard thing a thing.

— Dedmon’s second point was the 3,000th of his career.

— But it was a rough one for Dedmon, fouling out in just 14 minutes.

— Adebayo’s third free throw moved him past Tim Hardaway for 12th on the Heat all-time list.

— Adebayo’s seventh defensive rebound moved him past Grant Long for seventh on the Heat all-time list.

— Adebayo’s fourth free-throw attempt moved him past Goran Dragic for 11th on the Heat all-time list.

— Butler’s 14th point was the 12,000th of his career.

— Herro’s first 3-pointer tied LeBron James for 13th on the Heat all-time list.

— Heat coach Erik Spoelstra noted pregame how impressed he has been with the Cavaliers’ defense guided by coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

— “There’s a few different levels to that,” Spoelstra said. “One, I think J.B. has just really created a defensive system that fits their personnel. And J.B.’s a great defensive coach, all-around coach, but defensively they’ve really rallied around that to win games.”

— Of course, this was a case of the Cavaliers without Jarrett Allen.

— “They do have a lot of length, a lot of guys the can cover ground, be in two places at once,” Spoelstra said. “They can switch. They can play a drop coverage. They also can throw in some zone defenses, to keep you off balance.”

— Spoelstra added, “But you have to respect how they’ve built that defense all year long.”

— Spoelstra noted his collegiate career included playing against Eric Mobley, father of Cavs forward Evan Mobley.

— “I played college basketball with his dad,” Spoelstra said. “And he just looks exactly like him. And I was able to catch up with his dad at All-Star Weekend.”

— Of Evan Mobley, Spoelstra said, “Defensively from the very first day that he came into this league, he was ready. And that’s hard to do. He can defend different schemes and, also, a lot of different positions.”

— Of playing two nights after being crushed at home by the Suns, Spoelstra said, “If you treat it the right way, it helps you grow and get better. We were all really disappointed about that game the other night. Just all across the board we got beat in every aspect, and that’s on all of us.”

— He added, “That also is the beauty of this league, you have the opportunity to make amends for that, collectively, pretty soon after a tough loss like that.”

—Bickerstaff, on being in the discussion for Coach of the Year, “Obviously, it would be a great honor. It wouldn’t be something just for me. It would be proof of what our guys are capable of and what our staff has been able to do as well.”

— Bickerstaff reflected pregame on his relationship with Spoelstra.

— “We go back a long, long time,” he said. “David Fizdale and I have been close since I was 17. Fiz worked for Spo. They both were in the video room years and years ago, so I used to come out here a bunch and spend time with Fiz and spend time with Spo. We’ve always had a great relationship.”

— Bickerstaff added, “You can put your eye on a Miami Heat player, you can watch a game and know, ‘That’s a Miami Heat player.’ I think that’s what we are aiming for.”

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