Cleveland Cavaliers Hand Miami Heat Worst-Ever Playoff Loss
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The Cleveland Cavaliers took a commanding 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Miami Heat, handing their opponents a 124-87 defeat on Saturday. According to ESPN, the loss was the worst-ever playoff defeat for the Heat, surpassing a 36-point loss in Game 3 of the 2013 NBA Finals.
The Cavaliers were led by Jarrett Allen, who scored 22 points, while De’Andre Hunter added 21 points to the team’s tally. Evan Mobley contributed 19 points, and Max Strus chipped in with 18 points. The team also received 13 points each from Ty Jerome and Donovan Mitchell. As ESPN reports, the Cavaliers’ strong performance was largely due to their dominance on the rebound, outrebounding the Heat 46-29 and outscoring them 60-30 in the paint.
Miami’s Bam Adebayo scored 22 points, while Davion Mitchell added 16 points, but it was not enough to prevent the Heat’s worst-ever playoff loss. The team’s coach, Erik Spoelstra, expressed his disappointment with the performance, stating, “Clearly, a very disappointing day. Our guys really want this, and it probably looks like our guys don’t. But I know what our last six weeks have been like, just to fight and scratch and claw to get into this. And that’s why this is such a disappointing game,” as quoted by ESPN.
The Cavaliers’ victory marked the 11th time a team has taken a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven series, with the previous 10 instances all resulting in 4-0 sweeps. ESPN notes that Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson attributed the team’s success to their defensive strategy, stating, “Our guys knew that was the key, rebounding and winning the rebounding battle. We really executed defensively.”
The Cavaliers will look to complete a sweep of the series when Game 4 is played in Miami on Monday. According to ESPN, this would be the 159th time in NBA history that a team has taken a 3-0 series lead, with the first 157 teams going on to win the series.
The game got off to a slow start for the Cavaliers, with Miami dominating the first 5½ minutes. However, the tide turned when Cleveland went on a 33-5 run, taking control of the game and never looking back. As ESPN reports, Cavaliers player Evan Mobley said, “We took the first punch. And from there we just took the game over.” The Cavaliers’ strong performance was capped off by a convincing 37-point victory, leaving the Heat on the brink of being swept.
In the post-game media availability, Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson praised Max Strus for his overall effort, saying, “he does all the dirty work.” The Cavaliers’ victory was a dominant display of their strength and strategy, and they will look to complete the sweep on Monday. As reported by ESPN, the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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