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Under head coach Erik Spoelstra, the Miami Heat have made a habit of making lengthy playoff runs, even making the finals as an eighth seed in 2023. However, they had no answer for the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first-round matchup.
The Cavs have been the Eastern Conference’s best team all season. Although the Boston Celtics remain the favorite to come out of the East, no one has been more impressive in the 2025 postseason than the Cavs.
They capped the most lopsided playoff series victory in NBA history by absolutely decimating the Heat in a 138-83 series-clinching victory on Monday night, completing a sweep of the eighth-seeded Heat.
Cavs Complete Historic Sweep
It was another balanced effort for the Cavs with Donovan Mitchell scoring 21 points. Five other Cavs scored in double figures (De’Andre Hunter poured in 19, Ty Jerome had 18, Evan Mobley dropped 17, Jarrett Allen added 14, and Javonte Green got into double figures with 11).
The Cavs won their four games by a combined 122 points, the most in league history. They opened the series with a 121-100 victory in Game 1, followed by the only somewhat tight game of the series, a 121-112 home win, before heading to Miami for a 124-87 Game 3 victory. That culminated in one of the most dominant performances in playoff history in Game 4 – the 55-point win was the fourth-highest margin of victory in postseason history.
After the game, Spoelstra discussed what wound up being one of the biggest mismatches of all time.
“Damn it was humbling… We were as irrational as we usually are, thinking that we have a chance to win this series and they showed us why we weren’t ready for that.”
Erik Spoelstra on the Heat being swept by the Cavs🗣️pic.twitter.com/8NEV4z9ogT
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 29, 2025
“Damn it was humbling,” Spoelstra said. “We were as irrational as we usually are, thinking that we have a chance to win this series, and they showed us why we weren’t ready for that.”
There isn’t much more for Spoelstra to say. He pointed out that the Cavs won 64 games while the Heat went just 37-45, finishing 10th in the East. The Heat defeated both the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks in the play-in to earn the opportunity, only to get destroyed by the Cavs.
Cavs Awaiting Their Next Opponent
The Cavs will take on their winner of the Indiana Pacers-Milwaukee Bucks series. The Pacers defeated the Bucks 129-103 on Sunday night to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. The reeling Bucks also received the news that star point guard Damian Lillard tore his Achilles tendon during their Game 4 loss and will be out for the remainder of the season.
The Pacers will return home to attempt to close the series out on Tuesday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. EST and will air on NBA TV.
Whichever team wins, the series will be in Cleveland to take on the Cavs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, which won’t start any earlier than Saturday.
