Cavs sweep Heat with 55-point Game 4 blowout
The Cleveland Cavaliers blew out the Miami Heat 138-83 on Monday to complete the sweep and advance to the second round.
The 55-point margin of victory is the fourth-largest in playoff history and the biggest margin in an Eastern Conference postseason contest, according to StatMuse.
It also stands as the biggest win in a series-clinching game in NBA postseason history, according to Sportsnet Stats.
"Damn, it was humbling," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said postgame, according to The Associated Press' Time Reynolds. "This series was humbling. These last two games were embarrassing. But Cleveland's also a very good team. ... They showed us why we weren't ready for that."
Donovan Mitchell led all Cavs scorers with a team-high 22 points and splashed in four triples. De'Andre Hunter, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Ty Jerome, and Javonte Green also scored in double digits.
"We came out here with a goal in mind," Mitchell said.
The Cavs flew out of the gate, beginning the game with a 30-8 run and leading by 26 after the first quarter. They were up 72-33 at the break, which is the largest halftime lead in a potential series-clinching game in NBA postseason history, according to Sportsnet Stats.
That deficit was also the third-largest halftime lead in NBA playoff history, per SportsCenter. The Cavs already own the largest as they held a 41-point edge over the Boston Celtics in 2017.
The Heat shot just 36% from the field and an abysmal 20.4% from three. They also conceded 28 points off 19 turnovers.
"We came down here with the right mentality and again, our maturity, our leadership, all that stuff we've been talking about all year," Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said. "We don't seem to have letdowns. That's rare."
Rookie Nikola Jovic was the lone bright spot for Miami with a game-high 24 points off the bench. He also hit four 3-pointers.
The Cavs took care of Miami without starting point guard Darius Garland for Games 3 and 4 due to a sprained left toe. In those two games, the Heat became the first team to lose back-to-back playoff contests by 30 or more points, according to NBA reporter Keerthika Uthayakumar.
Miami lost Game 3 by a 37-point margin. Center Bam Adebayo said he expects changes to the Heat roster this offseason.
"There are going to be a lot of changes this summer, knowing how the guy with the silver hair (Heat president Pat Riley) works," Adebayo said, according to the Miami Herald's Anthony Chiang.
Cleveland will take on the winner of the Indiana Pacers-Milwaukee Bucks series in the second round.