Cavs crush Heat in record slaughter

Butler did it! Ace puts Warriors on the brink

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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 scoring with 22 points on a night when six Cleveland players finished in double figures.

With Darius Garland (toe) missing from the Cleveland line-up, Mitchell received support from De'Andre Hunter with 19 points, Ty Jerome (18) and Evan Mobley (17).

Mitchell said Cleveland had been determined to wrap up the series swiftly.

"We came out here with a goal in mind," Mitchell told TNT television. "To keep our foot on their throat and on their neck and continue to play 48 minutes of basketball."