Cavaliers sweep Heat with record-setting blowout
(Reuters) - Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers clinched a 4-0 first-round series sweep with a 138-83 rout of the host Miami Heat on Monday night, the fourth-largest winning margin in an NBA playoff game.
De'Andre Hunter (19 points), Ty Jerome (18) and Evan Mobley (17) all played their part, while Jarrett Allen finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds along with six first-half steals.
Nikola Jovic sat out the first quarter before finishing with a career playoff-high 24 points for Miami, while Bam Adebayo posted 13 points and 12 boards.
The emphatic Game 4 victory earned the No. 1 seed Cavaliers a berth in the Eastern Conference semifinals, while ending the eighth-seeded Heat's season in humiliating fashion.
The 55-point margin was Miami's biggest postseason defeat, surpassing the previous record of 37 points set two days ago in Game 3.
"We were humbled, but they (Cavaliers) had so much to do with how we looked," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "None of us would have guessed this series would have gone this way coming out of our two play-ins. They just took it to another level. They left us behind these last two games."
Cleveland set up the blowout by trouncing the Heat 43-17 in the first period.
After Miami briefly led 3-2 early, the Cavs went on a 13-0 tear to pull ahead 15-3. They were never threatened again, another 15-0 spree taking the score to 35-8.
"Great leadership that first five minutes, led by our starters, then when our bench comes in we don't skip a beat - we get stronger," Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. "We came here with the right mentality. ... We don't seem to have letdowns, and that's rare."
Davion Mitchell buried a last-second prayer from almost halfway to close an otherwise horrific quarter from the Heat, outrebounded 14-8 and coughing up six turnovers for 11 points.
Donovan Mitchell had 13 first-quarter points, including three 3-pointers, Hunter added 11, and Allen had 10 points and four steals.
The Cavaliers shot 15 of 24 for the period, which included 6 of 11 from downtown, while the Heat misfired at 7 of 21 from the floor and 2 of 12 from deep.
Jovic played all 12 minutes in the second and scored 12 of Miami's 16 points, while Cleveland added 29 to motor ahead 72-33 at the main break.
The 39-point halftime deficit was the Heat's largest in any game in franchise history, regular season or playoff.
Miami showed some fight in the third, but couldn't prevent the Cavs from winning the frame 39-30.
Cleveland marched ahead 111-63 when Ty Jerome sank a 37-footer on the buzzer to end the quarter, before the margin topped out at 60 points (138-78) in the fourth.
