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MIAMI – A game removed after the Miami Heat had their most lopsided playoff loss in team history in Game 3, the record has been broken with the 55-point 138-83 loss in Game 4 on Monday night. Even with the Heat on the brink of playoff elimination, the team was hoping to extend the series and get one win on their home floor, but the Cavs had other plans and brought the brooms out in a huge way.
Miami lost by 37 points on Saturday afternoon, which was the record, as said before, but Monday saw the team lose by 55 points, in what was a dominating victory unlike anything the unit has seen. Not only is it the biggest playoff loss in team history, it's the fourth most lopsided playoff loss in NBA history and the second largest for the Heat, counting the regular season and the postseason.
To add to the vast disappointment, Miami is the first team in NBA history to have back-to-back 30 or more points losses in a playoff series, according to Keerthika Uthayakumar on X, formerly Twitter.
The carnage started early for the Heat against the Cavs
After the Heat went down 0-3 in the series in Game 3, one would expect the team to come out with a force and guns blazing. The exact opposite happened as Miami had arguably one of the worst first quarters in a playoff game, as the 26-point deficit is tied for the largest point differential at the end of the opening period in NBA playoff history.
It wouldn't stop there as Cleveland would build up a 40-point lead at one point as the Heat trailed 63-23 with 4:22 left in the period. By the end of the first half, the Heat were trailing 72-33 as it was as putrid of an outing as it could get with the team looking to avoid the sweep.
Miami looked checked out after the Cavs kept hitting shots and capitalizing on their mistakes, as it was in some ways shocking how outmatched the team looked, even if their opponents are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Heat shot 30.2 percent from the field and only made four of their 25 attempts from three-point range, to go along with 12 turnovers.
Not only is the 39-point deficit at halftime the largest in franchise history, which includes playoffs and the regular season, but it's also the third most lopsided point differential in NBA postseason history.
The Heat's season ends on the worst note possible
Despite the invaluable experience being received by Heat rookie Kel'el Ware, head coach Erik Spoelstra would sit him in the second half for Nikola Jovic. However, it didn't change the outcome of the contest in the slightest as the Cavs wouldn't take their foot off the gas, putting an end to Miami's season in the most brutal way possible.
It's already frustrating to be swept, but when it's off back-to-back contests of setting dreadful playoff records in terms of point differential in team history, it's as bad as an ending gets. In a season full of turmoil on and off the court, one has to wonder about the direction of the team, whether the franchise runs back largely the same unit or goes whale hunting for a superstar in the offseason.
However, fans could be feeling deja vu when hearing that the team will go looking for a star, and whether names like Adebayo and Herro will be in trade conversations. In a perfect world, Miami pairs a Jimmy Butler-like star next to the two foundation pieces in looking to contend.
At any rate, the Heat are officially eliminated from the playoffs in four games to the Cavs, as while they entered the playoffs as the eighth seed, they finished the regular season at tenth with a 37-45 record.
