Cavaliers scorch Heat as Warriors hit Rockets
Basketball
By
AFP
| Apr 29, 2025
Jimmy Butler of the Golden State Warriors during the game against the Houston Rockets on April 28, 2025, at Chase Center in San Francisco, California. [AFP]
The Cleveland Cavaliers thrashed the Miami Heat to cruise into the next round of the NBA playoffs on Monday as the Golden State Warriors battled past the Houston Rockets 109-106 to move to the brink of a series victory.
After pounding Miami 124-87 in game three on Saturday, No.1 Eastern Conference seeds Cleveland once again piled on the misery for their outclassed opponents with a crushing 138-83 victory to complete a 4-0 series win.
The 55-point drubbing was the largest series-clinching victory in NBA playoff history and sets up a series against either the Indiana Pacers or Milwaukee Bucks in the next round.
Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers in scoring with 22 points on a night when six Cleveland players finished in double figures.
In Monday's other playoff game, Jimmy Butler made a dazzling return from injury for Golden State in a pulsating Warriors victory over Houston in San Francisco.
Butler -- who was injured in a controversial incident in game two last week and missed game three with a pelvic contusion -- scored 27 points to help Golden State take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
An ill-tempered contest frequently threatened to boil over, with several shoving matches erupting at different periods of a hard-fought scrap at the Chase Center.
While Stephen Curry had a quiet night with 17 points, Brandin Podziemski rained in six-of-11 three-pointers to finish with 26 points.
Houston had led by seven early in the second half.
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