The Cleveland Cavaliers flirted with history.
They were roughly one minute away from what would have been the first 60-point win in NBA playoff history. But the Miami Heat managed to “chip away,” and the Cavs went on to win by just 55 with a 138-83 series-clinching victory in Game 4 of their first-round playoff matchup on Monday.
It was the fourth-largest margin of victory in NBA playoff history, with the Cavs nearly also setting the record for largest postseason halftime lead after being up by 39 at the break.
The lopsided victory came just days after the Oklahoma City Thunder recorded what, at the time, was the sixth 50-plus-point playoff victory in league history. The Thunder routed the Memphis Grizzlies 131-80 in the opening game of their first-round series for what was the largest Game 1 margin in NBA history.
Here’s a look at the other most lopsided playoff victories in NBA playoff history…
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Two games hold a tie for the largest NBA playoff win. Most recently in the 2009 playoffs, the Denver Nuggets crushed the New Orleans Hornets 121-63 for a 58-point win, as did the Minneapolis Lakers in their 1956 133-75 result over the St. Louis Hawks.
Denver’s win came in the first round, while Minneapolis’ was in the semifinals, though the formats differed.
Here’s a list of the 50-plus-point margins in NBA playoff history:
- 58 points: Minneapolis Lakers 133, St. Louis Hawks 75 (1956 Western Division semifinals)
- 58 points: Denver Nuggets 121, New Orleans Hornets 63 (2009 Western Conference first round)
- 56 points: Los Angeles Lakers 126, Golden State Warriors 70 (1973 Western Conference Finals)
- 55 points: Cleveland Cavaliers 138, Miami Heat 83 (2025 Eastern Conference first round)
- 54 points: Chicago Bulls 120, Milwaukee Bucks 66 (2015 Eastern Conference first round)
- 51 points: Oklahoma City Thunder 131, Memphis Grizzlies 80 (2025 Western Conference first round)
- 50 points: Milwaukee Bucks 136, San Francisco Warriors 86 (1971 Western Conference semifinals)
