The Cleveland Cavaliers delivered a dominant performance to sweep the Miami Heat 4-0 in their first-round playoff series, winning 138-83 and advancing to the Eastern Conference semi-finals. The 55-point victory marked the fourth-largest margin in NBA playoff history and the worst postseason loss ever for Miami.
Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 22 points, while De’Andre Hunter added 19, Ty Jerome scored 18, and Evan Mobley chipped in with 17. “We came out here with a goal in mind—to keep our foot on their throat and play 48 minutes of basketball,” Mitchell told TNT.
The blowout surpassed the Heat’s previous playoff loss record of 37 points, set just earlier in the same series. “We were humbled,” said Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra. “They just took it to another level. They left us behind these past two games.”
Cleveland now awaits the winner of the Milwaukee Bucks vs. Indiana Pacers series, with the Pacers currently leading 3-1.
Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors edged out the Houston Rockets 109-106 in San Francisco to take a 3-1 series lead. Jimmy Butler returned from injury to score 27 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, while Brandin Podziemski drained six three-pointers en route to 26 points.
Golden State overturned a seven-point halftime deficit with an 18-1 run to start the third quarter. The game remained tight, tied at 104 with just over a minute to play. Fred VanVleet kept the Rockets close with 25 points—24 of them from beyond the arc—but missed a game-tying three at the buzzer.
Game five shifts to Houston on Wednesday, April 30, tipping off at 7:30 p.m. local time.
