Cleveland Cavaliers Establish New Blowout Milestone

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NBA History in the Making: Cleveland Sweeps Miami in Spectacular Fashion

MIAMI - The Cleveland Cavaliers left no room for doubts; they marched into Round 2 with an emphatic statement, clinching their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Miami Heat in a historic sweep. The final score read 138-83, setting the stage for the most lopsided series in NBA playoff history.

Donovan Mitchell dropped 22 points, De'Andre Hunter contributed 19, and the Cavaliers unleashed an all-out offensive assault. Ty Jerome scored 18 points, while Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen recorded 17 and 14 points, respectively. To add to Allen's impressive performance, he grabbed 12 rebounds and registered six steals.

The Cavaliers enjoyed a lead as high as 60 points. In a bid to prevent setting a record for the largest playoff defeat, Pelle Larsson saved Miami from the ignominious history. Larsson connected from beyond the arc, narrowing Cleveland's lead to a somewhat respectable 55.

Invaluably, Nikola Jovic tallied a team-high 24 points for the Heat, with Ban Adebayo scoring 13 points and Andrew Wiggins adding 12.

As the dust settles, Cleveland awaits their opponent in the Eastern Conference semifinals, either Indiana or Milwaukee. The Pacers currently lead the series 3-1. Regardless of the outcome, the Cavs will host the first game, with the earliest possible date set for Saturday.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, the Golden State Warriors fended off the Houston Rockets by a 109-106 margin, taking a 3-1 series lead. The intense atmosphere saw multiple technical fouls, a Flagrant 1 foul, and altercations involving key players like Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, and Dillon Brooks.

Remarkably, Butler made a triumphant return from a pelvic injury, contributing 27 points, five crucial free throws in the final minute. Brandin Podziemski added 26 points, while Stephen Curry and Buddy Hield scored 17 and 15 points respectively, with Hield hitting a crucial three-pointer late in the game. Alperen Sengun put up 31 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, and an equally impressive performance by Fred VanVleet with 25 points nearly sealed the deal for Houston, but a potential game-tying three at the buzzer missed the mark. / AP

Enrichment Data:

Did you know? The largest margin of victory in NBA playoff history is 58 points, achieved by two different teams:

The Minneapolis Lakers defeated the St. Louis Hawks by 68 points in the 1956 Western Division semifinals (133-75). This remarkable win saw all ten players on the Lakers scoring in double digits.[1][2][5]
The Denver Nuggets beat the New Orleans Hornets by 58 points in the 2009 Western Conference first round (121-63). The Nuggets had seven players scoring in double digits, with Carmelo Anthony leading the way with 26 points.[1][2][5]

Both of these games stand as the largest margins of victory in NBA playoff history.

The Cleveland Cavaliers' 55-point victory over the Miami Heat in the 2023 NBA playoffs is the newest contender for the most lopsided series in NBA playoff history.
In his impressive performance, Jarrett Allen scored 14 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and registered six steals, contributing significantly to the Cavaliers' victory.
While the Miami Heat's Pelle Larsson managed to avoid setting a record for the largest playoff defeat in NBA history, the Heat still lost by a significant margin of 55 points.
In another NBA playoff game, Nikola Jovic scored a team-high 24 points for the Miami Heat, but it was not enough to prevent them from being swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.