Jimmy Butler returned from a one-game absence to make five critical free throws in the final minute that lifted the Golden State Warriors to an important 109-106 victory over the Houston Rockets in Monday's Game 4 of a Western Conference quarter-final series.

After missing his team's Game 3 win on Saturday with a pelvic contusion, Butler scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half to help put the seventh-seeded Warriors a game away from eliminating Houston, the West's No. 2 seed.

Brandin Podziemski also stepped up to enable Golden State to go up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, as the second-year guard went 6 of 11 from 3-point range and amassed a post-season career-high 26 points on an off-shooting night from backcourt mate Stephen Curry.

Curry finished with 17 points but was just 2 of 8 from beyond the arc.

Houston came up short for a second straight game despite Alperen Sengun's 31 points and 10 rebounds and a big performance from Fred VanVleet, who made 8 of 12 shots from 3-point range to tally 25 points.

VanVleet missed a contested long-distance shot just before the final buzzer, however, to send the Rockets back home for a must-win situation in Wednesday's Game 5.

After Houston overcame an early 12-point deficit to take a 57-50 lead at half-time, Butler willed the Warriors back with a dominant second half in his first appearance since leaving Game 2 early after landing hard when undercut by the Rockets' Amen Thompson.

The six-time All-Star sparked an 18-1 Golden State run to begin the third quarter, which Buddy Hield capped with a 3-pointer that gave the Warriors a 68-58 advantage with 7:23 left in the period.

Houston responded by scoring the next seven points, however, and tied the game later on in the quarter when Sengun drove down the lane and scored to knot the contest at 74-74.

The game remained tight the rest of the way, with VanVleet's 3-pointer with 1:20 left to play pulling Houston even at 104-104. Butler was then fouled by Dillon Brooks on a 3-point try with 58.7 seconds to go, and made all three bonus shots to put the Warriors back ahead.

Sengun answered with a successful hook shot but couldn't get one to fall in the waning stages, with Butler grabbing the rebound and drawing a foul before sinking two more free throws for a 109-106 edge with four seconds to go.

JIMMY BUTLER III APPRECIATION POST

Toughness personified. pic.twitter.com/hJpJdlEqsN

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 29, 2025

The Rockets then got the ball to VanVleet for a potential game-tying shot under duress that missed the mark as time expired.

Cavaliers complete historic sweep of Heat with 55-point blowout

After handing the Miami Heat the worst play-off loss in franchise history in Game 3, the Cleveland Cavaliers closed out their Eastern Conference first-round series with an even more dominant performance.

The top-seeded Cavaliers advanced to the second round with a 138-83 obliteration of Miami in Game 4 to finish off the most lopsided post-season series in NBA history.

Cleveland won all four meetings by a combined 122 points, the largest margin by any team in a play-off series. The previous record was 121 points, set by the Denver Nuggets in a 2009 opening-round series victory over the New Orleans Hornets that went five games.

The Cavaliers will now await the winner of the Indiana-Milwaukee series, which the Pacers currently lead 3-1.

Coming off a 124-87 rout in Miami in Saturday's Game 3, the Cavaliers were never challenged once again despite All-Star guard Darius Garland missing a second straight game with a sprained toe. Donovan Mitchell led the way in Monday's blowout with 22 points in 25 minutes, while reserves De'Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome chipped in 19 and 18 points, respectively, to complement a 14-point, 12-rebound, six-steal effort from center Jarrett Allen.

The Cavaliers were just as superior on the defensive end, holding Miami star Tyler Herro to four points on a 1-of-10 shooting display that included eight misses in nine attempts from 3-point range. 

The over-matched Heat, the first team in league history to advance to a conference quarter-final as a No. 10 seed via the play-in tournament, were led by Nikola Jovic's 24 points off the bench.

Cleveland quickly put any thoughts of Miami extending the series to rest right away, as it opened the game on a 20-5 run before finishing the period with a commanding 43-17 lead behind 13 points from Mitchell and 11 from Hunter.

The @cavs tallied 77 3PM in their First Round series to advance to the East Semis

That ties the MOST threes ever hit in a 4-game playoff series, joining...

The Cleveland Cavaliers, in 2016 🤯#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google pic.twitter.com/TZvO4FuwOQ

— NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2025

It was more of the same in the second quarter, as the Heat continued to miss shots and the Cavs continued to pour it on. Cleveland's margin got as high as 45 points in the period before it cruised into the break with an insurmountable 72-33 advantage.

The Cavaliers' lead eventually swelled to 60 points - which would have been the largest margin of victory in any NBA play-off game - when they went up 138-78 nearing the final minute of play. The Heat avoided that dubious feat by scoring the final five points, capped by a 3-pointer by Pelle Larsson with 38.9 seconds left.