The Miami Heat were eliminated from the playoffs in devastating fashion Monday night, suffering a 138-83 blowout loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Kaseya Center to complete a 4-0 first-round sweep.
In a postgame press conference, Heat All-Star Bam Adebayo called the series-ending defeat “fuel” for the offseason and acknowledged the emotional toll of a turbulent year that ended with a historic 55-point loss.
“It’s not even about how they defended us,” Adebayo said, referencing the Cavaliers’ schemes. “We just weren’t patient enough. Just quick shots… playing random basketball. In the playoffs, it can get ugly.”
The Heat trailed 43-14 late in the first quarter and entered halftime down by 39, marking the third-largest halftime deficit in NBA postseason history.
Despite recording 13 points and 12 rebounds, Adebayo admitted the team lacked structure and composure, especially early in games.
Cleveland’s wire-to-wire dominance included 22 made threes on 46.8% shooting and 19 forced turnovers, effectively silencing a Miami squad that shot just 36% from the field and 20.4% from deep.
“We fought at the end of the day,” Adebayo said of Miami’s late-season push from the 10th seed into the playoffs. “That’s one more victory we can leave with.”
Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 22 points, while six teammates scored in double figures, including De’Andre Hunter (19), Ty Jerome (18), and Jarrett Allen (14 points, 12 rebounds, 6 steals).
For Miami, Nikola Jovic was the lone bright spot with a team-high 24 points.
With back-to-back first-round exits now behind them, the Heat face significant uncertainty going into the offseason.
“There’s going to be a lot of changes this summer,” Adebayo stated. “Just from my point of view… be prepared for that.”
He also took responsibility for the Heat’s collapse as the team’s captain, admitting he failed to have the group mentally ready for Game 4.
“Controlling the locker room… obviously I didn’t do well at, especially this last game,” Adebayo said.
Still, he pointed to the team’s resilience during their 10-game losing streak earlier in the season as a sign of internal strength.
“We were obsessed with trying to dig ourselves out of the hole,” he said. “That’s all you can ask for.”
Miami’s season ends with more questions than answers, while Cleveland prepares for the Eastern Conference semifinals against either Milwaukee or Indiana.
