Cavaliers Obliterate Heat With Historic Playoff Sweep, Barkley Roasts Miami

The Cleveland Cavaliers absolutely obliterated the Miami Heat on Monday night, delivering a jaw-dropping 138-83 win to seal their first-round sweep. Cleveland now heads confidently into the second round of the playoffs, and, honestly, with a performance like this, who wouldn’t be feeling themselves?

Six Cavs players racked up double-digit points, led by Donovan Mitchell with 22 points and five assists, while Jarrett Allen posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. De’Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome came off the bench swinging, notching 19 and 18 points respectively. Miami’s Nikola Jovic tried to keep his team afloat with 24 points, and Bam Adebayo chipped in 13, but it wasn’t nearly enough to stop the bleeding.

Cleveland dominated from the jump, leading by as much as 60 points. The 55-point margin in Game 4 stands as the fourth-largest blowout in NBA playoff history. Even more wild, the Cavs outscored the Heat by a staggering 92 points over Games 3 and 4—a new playoff record for point differential in two consecutive games. Their total 122-point series margin also set a new NBA playoff benchmark.

“We came out here with a goal in mind,” Mitchell said, which is probably the understatement of the year considering the carnage left on that court.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra didn’t sugarcoat it: “Damn, it was humbling. 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.” If understatement were a sport, Spoelstra would’ve just won.

Meanwhile, Charles Barkley, never one to hold back, roasted the Heat at halftime. “I try not to ever use the word quit or choke... This is quitting at its finest right here,” he said, suggesting the Heat players’ bags were probably already packed. If you lose by 37 and then come back to lose by 40, Charles thinks it might be time to consider a vacation home—just not in Miami.

The Cavs looked every bit the playoff threat they were hyped to be. Mitchell dropped the series’ only two 30-point games in Games 1 and 2, and the Cavs never dipped below 20 team assists in a game. Their Game 4 field goal percentage? A scorching 54.7%.

Coach Kenny Atkinson praised his squad’s maturity and leadership, noting, “We don’t seem to have letdowns. That’s rare.” Rare is putting it lightly—these Cavs just made history, and made it look easy.