CLEVELAND, Ohio — When the Cavs were leading the Miami Heat 72-33 at halftime on Monday, what better group of people for TNT to turn coverage over to than the Inside the NBA crew?
The discourse surrounding this game, a 138-83 Game 4 win for the Cavs that gave them a first-round series sweep, was more entertaining than anything happening on the court, as the Cavs dominated from start to finish.
It was like a “karate movie” when a new character comes in and starts beating everyone up, Kenny Smith declared.
Ernie Johnson one-upped him, saying, “This might be the worst game I’ve ever watched.”
True to form, Charles Barkley provided the best assessment: “I try not to ever use the word ‘quit’ or ‘choke,’ and I very seldom use them. This is quitting at its finest right here. I bet if we go to their house, their stuff is already packed.”
They referenced a quote from Heat big man Bam Adebayo, who said that Miami would “go down swinging” after their Game 3 loss on Saturday afternoon. And then Barkley proceeded to “punch” Smith with a series of the limp hits to drive home the point of just how vicious those swings actually were.
After that, the trio fake raced to the big board on set to show why the Cavs were systematically dismantling Miami in slo-mo, because “if they gonna quit, we can quit too,” as Barkley said.
Yes, the Heat seemingly came into this game with a “Cancun on 3″ huddle break, as the classic playoff joke says.
Seriously, go search “Heat Cancun” on the platform X right now if you’re looking for a laugh — NBA Twitter has more than enough material for a tight 10.
Cavs vs. Heat Game 4 NBA playoffs, April 28, 2025
And the Cavs did what a No. 1 seed is supposed to do when presented with that opportunity.
The game was basically over as it began. Jarrett Allen had four first-quarter steals, and started the game with a big one on the perimeter that led to a transition dunk. The Heat didn’t hit double-digit points until 10:13 had gone by in the first quarter.
Miami made only 4 of 25 first-half 3-point attempts.
Cleveland went up by as many as 45 in the second quarter, and their biggest lead of the night was 60 (138-78). Miami fans headed for the exits in the third quarter.
It was an absolute one-sided beat down, that ended with six Cavs players scoring in double-figures, and the starters needing only to play roughly 25 minutes.
After besting Miami with 21- and nine-point victories in Games 1 and 2, respectively, the Cavs managed to come down to Miami and put the rest of the Eastern Conference playoff field on notice with a 37-point win in Game 3 and Monday’s 55-point win. Those last two wins came without Darius Garland, still dealing with a great toe sprain in his left foot.
Now, Cleveland will wait to see if the Pacers-Bucks series ends Tuesday. Indiana leads that series 3-1.
The big lesson from this series however, other than giving us some great comedic material, is that the Cavs did what good teams do.
They swept a 37-win team and moved on, buying themselves some highly coveted and well-earned playoff respite.
And there’s no jokes to be made about how valuable that extra rest can become in a deep postseason run.
