The Miami Heat didn't put up much of a fight as they faced elimination and a 4–0 sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night. The Cavs blew out the Heat by 55 points, 138–83 to advance to the second round and end Miami's disappointing season.
Cleveland's rout of Miami was the fourth-biggest blowout in NBA playoff history, only three points shy of tying the record for the largest playoff loss ever. Now, the Heat have a big offseason ahead in determining the franchise's direction in future years, especially after they dealt Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors at this year's trade deadline amid a tumultuous breakup.
Nobody expected the No. 8 seed Heat, who finished the regular season 37-45 and snuck into the playoffs through the play-in tournament, to take down the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed Cavaliers. But the NBA world at least expected Miami to play a competitive game as they faced elimination.
Thank you to the Miami Heat for attending the 2025 NBA playoffs
— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) April 28, 2025
being down by 60 points in the fourth quarter is really bad which is why i’m happy the heat are only down 58
— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) April 29, 2025
Not to put alcohol to the wound (or gasoline to the fire to some people), but Heat Culture was real -- it just relocated to the Bay.
— Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) April 29, 2025
oscillating between "this is mad impressive" and "this is embarrassing"
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) April 28, 2025
Getting drilled by a million points on your home floor is certainly one way to end a miserable season.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) April 29, 2025
Cleveland won this series by 122 points: The most lopsided series in NBA playoff history.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) April 29, 2025
Really hard to believe the Blazers didn’t want to trade for all this
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) April 29, 2025
Heat running into the Cavs at the airport tonight on the way to Cancun: pic.twitter.com/VIRp1ivdx9
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) April 29, 2025
The popular X account @nba_paint even reimagined the Heat's logo based on their performance Monday:
Miami Cold. pic.twitter.com/V4pLvRTbcw
— playoff paint (@nba_paint) April 29, 2025
The Cavs advance to play the winner of the Indiana Pacers-Milwaukee Bucks first-round series, which Indiana currently leads 3–1. For Miami—they just have to hope they forget about this one over the offseason.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NBA World Couldn't Believe Heat's Big Loss to Cavs to End Disappointing Season.