On This Date in Sports December 17, 1991: Blowout
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The Cleveland Cavaliers hammer the Miami Heat 148-80 in the biggest blowout in the history of the NBA at the Richfield Coliseum. It is a complete team effort for the Cavs as all 12 players on the roster scored at least five points, with eight players reaching double digits. Cleveland’s leading scorers were John Battle and Mark Price, who had 18 points apiece. With the win, the Cavs improved to 13-8, while the Heat dropped to 11-12.
Coming off an injury-plagued season, the Cleveland Cavaliers, coached by Lenny Wilkins, were looking to continue a strong start as they hosted the Miami Heat. In their fourth season, the Heat, coached by Kevin Loughery, were looking to continue the positive vibes at 11-11 entering the game. The Cavaliers had the hot hand from the start outscoring Miami 34-24 in the first quarter while holding a 73-53 lead at the half. The game officially got away from the Heat in the third quarter as Cleveland started the third quarter on a 17-2 run. The Cavaliers would outscore the Heat 33-14 in the third quarter and 42-13 in the fourth with much of their bench on the floor to create the lob-sided 148-80 final score. The previous biggest rout in NBA history was a 63-point win by the Los Angeles Lakers over the Golden State Warriors (162-99) in 1972.
The Cavaliers shot 57% from the field as a team, as Mark Price and John Battle had a team-high 18 points. Meanwhile, Brad Daugherty and Henry James had 17 points, while Hot Rod Williams had 16. Meanwhile, Winston Bennett, Jimmy Oliver, and Danny Ferry had 11. Larry Nance finished the game with nine points, while Terrell Brandon had eight off the bench. Craig Ehlo had seven points, while Steve Kerr had five, rounding out the scoring.
The Cavaliers would go on to have one of the finest seasons in franchise history, finishing 57-25 as they went o the Eastern Conference Finals, where they would lose to the Chicago Bulls in six games. The Heat, meanwhile, shook off the loss and finished at 38-44, making the playoffs for the first time. They would also lose to the Bulls in the playoffs, suffering a three-game sweep in the first round.
The record lasted nearly 30 years. On December 3, 2021, the record for the most lopsided win was broken by the Memphis Grizzlies when they defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder by 73 points, 152-79.