The China Mail - Thunder sweep past Grizzlies into NBA playoffs 2nd round, Cavs on brink

Jalen Williams added 23 points for the Thunder, who were pushed to the wire by the desperate Grizzlies despite the absence of star Ja Morant, who was ruled out with a hip contusion suffered in game three.

Scotty Pippen Jr. scored 30 points and Santi Aldama and Desmond Bane had 23 points each for the Grizzlies, who trailed by 12 with 3:37 to play but closed within two with 7.1 seconds remaining, only to come up short.

After the first three games featured a total of four lead changes, the teams traded the lead 15 times in the first three quarters, the Thunder taking an 88-85 lead into the final period.

The Grizzlies were within two with 9:14 to play, but Oklahoma City put together a 10-2 scoring run to take the first double-digit lead of the game and, without Morant, Memphis just didn't have enough to extend the best-of-seven series.

Earlier, the Cleveland Cavaliers throttled Miami 124-87, handing the Heat the worst playoff defeat in franchise history to take a 3-0 stranglehold on their Eastern Conference first-round series.

The top-seeded Cavs shook off the absence of All-Star guard Darius Garland and a relatively quiet 13-point game from Donovan Mitchell to reach the brink of a playoff sweep, the Heat unable to capitalize as the series shifted to Miami after they dropped the first two games in Cleveland.

Jarrett Allen scored 22 points and D'Andre Hunter added 21 off the bench as six Cavs players scored in double figures.

The Heat, well aware that no NBA team has rallied from 3-0 down to win a playoff series, got off to a fast start and led by nine midway through the first quarter.

But the Cavs weathered the storm and were up by 13 by the end of the first quarter, their lead never dipping below double digits the rest of the way.

- Cavs take over -

"We just came out with energy," said newly named Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, who chipped in 19 points. "We took the first punch and from there we just took the game over."

Ty Jerome scored 13 off the bench and handed out 11 assists -- a playoff record for a Cavaliers reserve.

Bam Adebayo scored 22 points to lead the Heat, but the 37-point margin of defeat was the Heat's worst ever in the post-season.

It surpassed a 36-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs in game three of the 2013 NBA Finals -- when the Heat went on to win the title.

"Clearly a very disappointing day," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

The Cavs will have their first chance to close out the series on Monday.

In other games, the Los Angeles Clippers hosted Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, aiming to build on the game-three blowout that gave the Clippers a 2-1 series lead.

The Golden State Warriors were hoping that Jimmy Butler would be available when they hosted the Houston Rockets in a series tied at one game apiece.

Butler suffered a "deep glute muscle contusion" when he fell on his tailbone while chasing a rebound in Wednesday's loss to the Rockets in Houston.

N.Lo--ThChM