MIAMI (AP) — Cleveland left no doubt on its way to Round 2 — and finished off the most lopsided series in NBA playoff history.
Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points, De’Andre Hunter added 19 and the Cavaliers rolled past the Miami Heat 138-83 on Monday night to sweep their Eastern Conference first-round series in four games.
Ty Jerome had 18 points, Evan Mobley added 17 and Jarrett Allen had 14 points, 12 rebounds and six steals for the Cavaliers — who led by as many as 60 points.
Cleveland won the four games by a combined 122 points. The previous record: a 121-point combined win by Denver over New Orleans in 2009.
The 55-point margin in Game 4 was the fourth-biggest playoff win ever. The record for biggest playoff win is 58 points, done twice: Minneapolis over St. Louis in 1956 and Denver over New Orleans in 2009. The Los Angeles Lakers beat Golden State by 56 points in 1973.
WARRIORS 109, ROCKETS 106
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jimmy Butler converted three free throws with 58.7 seconds left, grabbed the game-clinching rebound with 4 seconds to go and then made two more free throws on the way to 27 points in his return from a pelvic injury, sending Golden State past Houston in a heated Game 4 to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Fred VanVleet missed a 3-pointer under pressure at the buzzer.
The teams return to Houston for Game 5 in the best-of-seven series on Wednesday night as seventh-seeded Golden State tries to close out the No. 2 seed Rockets on their home floor.
Brandin Podziemski scored 26 points, Stephen Curry finished with 17 in the frantic finish and Buddy Hield hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:32 left and scored 15 after joining the starting lineup.
Alperen Sengun scored with 40 seconds left for Houston to make it a one-point game. He had 31 points and 10 rebounds, while VanVleet hit a tying 3-pointer with 1:20 to play and scored 25 points.
Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell, back, tries to knock the ball away from Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus, front, during the first half in Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Denmark provided U.S. forces in the east Atlantic with support last week as they intercepted an oil tanker for violations of U.S. sanctions, a Danish government official confirmed on Tuesday, despite tensions between the allies over the Trump administration’s desire for control of Greenland.
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, declined to provide details about what the support entailed.
But acknowledgement of Danish support for the U.S. operation comes after tensions spiraled between the NATO allies as President Donald Trump renewed calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland. The vast Arctic island is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.
The U.S. interception in the Atlantic capped a weekslong pursuit of the tanker that began in the Caribbean Sea as the U.S. imposed a blockade in the waters of Venezuela aimed at capturing sanctioned vessels coming in and out of the South American country.
The White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Danish support for the U.S. operation was first reported by Newsmax.
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland on Wednesday at the White House to discuss Trump’s interest in acquiring Greenland, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting has not yet been formally announced.
Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said earlier Tuesday that Vance would host a meeting with him and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, in Washington this week.
Løkke Rasmussen told reporters after a meeting of the Danish parliament’s foreign policy committee that Vance had expressed a wish to take part and that he will host the meeting at the White House, with Rubio in attendance. Neither the White House nor Vance’s office responded immediately to emails and text messages seeking comment.
Løkke Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister, has been foreign minister since 2022 in the government of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
At a joint news conference with Frederiksen in Copenhagen on Tuesday, Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen reiterated that Greenland isn’t for sale, Danish media reported. He said that the island is part of the kingdom of Denmark, and Greenland doesn’t want to be owned or ruled by the U.S.
Frederiksen also said Greenland isn’t for sale and underlined Denmark’s willingness to invest in Arctic security. She said it hasn’t been easy to stand up to unacceptable pressure from a close ally and there are many indications that the most difficult part lies ahead.
Tensions have grown this month as Trump and his administration push the issue and the White House considers a range of options, including military force, to acquire Greenland. Trump reiterated his argument that the U.S. needs to “take Greenland,” otherwise Russia or China would, in comments aboard Air Force One on Sunday.
He said he’d rather “make a deal” for the territory, “but one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”
A bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation is headed to Copenhagen for meetings on Friday and Saturday in an attempt to show unity between the United States and Denmark.
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Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
Vice President JD Vance speaks during a briefing at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
