Cavaliers scorch Heat as Warriors hit Rockets

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.