As expected, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the injury riddled Washington Wizards 97-90 on Monday, completing the team's first ever sweep in franchise history.

Washington's loss, however, meant that every team representative from the Southeast Division has been swept in the opening round.  Chicago took care of Miami, and Detroit defeated Orlando.

LeBron James was close to a triple double, finishing with 31 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists, while Antawn Jamison again tried to carry his team, matching James' 31 points.

The Wizards were without two All-Stars, Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler, throughout the entire playoffs, making their chances of advancing a long shot at best.

The Cavaliers will now play the winner of the New Jersey-Toronto series, which the Nets lead 3-1 and have an opportunity to close out Tuesday in Toronto

Alonzo Mourning explicitly said that he has not decided whether or not he will retire but it appears as though a decision will be coming soon.

"Before we start the interview, I want to let you all know, I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to play next year," Mourning said Monday.

"We'll see what the future holds," Mourning said. "There's so many other opportunities out there in life for me, besides the game of basketball, that I'm truly looking forward to. I really am looking forward to a lot of other opportunities. I think I can make a decent living outside the game of basketball."

Playing for the U.S. basketball team almost certainly won't happen, because shoulder surgery almost certainly will.

Dwyane Wade's season might have come to an end Sunday when the Bulls swept Miami in the first-round playoff series, but his difficult year will continue as he addresses injuries to his left shoulder and knee.

Wade, who dislocated his left shoulder and tore his labrum Feb. 21, returned to play nine of the Heat's final 10 games, but will likely still undergo surgery to repair the shoulder. That will require four to six months of rehabilitation, which would rule him out of playing in the Olympic qualifier this summer.

''My plan is, right now, it's surgery, so I can't say what I'm going to do with [Team USA],'' Wade said. ``My main thing, for me, is health, and it's for my team more so than anything.''

With Miami's Game 4 loss to Chicago, they became the first team in 50 years to be the NBA Champions one season, and then be swept in the opening round of the playoffs the next.

The 1957 Philadelphia Warriors were the last defending champion to be swept in a first-round playoff series, losing to the Syracuse Nationals.  However, back then, the series was best-of-three, not the best-of-seven that it is today.

Chicago also became the first team to oust a defending champion in the first round since Phoenix did it to San Antonio in 2000.

The Bulls swept the defending NBA champion Heat out of the playoffs, winning a postseason series for the first time since the Michael Jordan era.

Ben Gordon scored 24 points, Luol Deng had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Chicago beat Miami 92-79 Sunday in Game 4 to finish off their first-round Eastern Conference series. The games biggest surprise, though, was Ben Wallace, who went 7-8 from the free throw line despite having the worst free throw shooting percentage in NBA history.

The Bulls, who will face Detroit in the second round, became the first team to oust a defending champion in the opening playoff series since Phoenix did it to San Antonio in 2000.

Heat coach Pat Riley stood in the center circle of his team's locker room Saturday morning, the space that features a rendering of the NBA championship trophy in the carpet, and challenged his players to join him for a sparring session.

''He came in the locker room [Saturday] jumping around, ready to spar,'' Dwyane Wade said of his 62-year-old coach. ``Nobody wanted to get in the circle with him to spar. He was in the middle. Udonis [Haslem] punked out, Dorell [Wright] punked out, [Gary Payton] punked out. They didn't want none. He's got the old man strength, too, so you can't let him grab you or it's over.''

Of course, Riley's message wasn't about fighting to the end. It was about fighting to avoid it.

The Chicago Bulls are one win from sending the defending NBA champions home for the summer -- in stunning style.

Ben Gordon scored 27 points, Luol Deng added 24 points and 11 rebounds and Chicago used a 15-2 fourth-quarter run to seize control of a 104-96 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Friday night.

Ben Gordon scored 27 points and Luol Deng added 26 to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 107-89 victory Tuesday night and a 2-0 lead over the defending champions in this first-round series.

"I have been around a long time and I've been in all these situations before," Heat center Shaquille O'Neal said. "Basically, the Bulls did what they're supposed to do and protect their home court. We have to play smarter basketball. We got to come with a lot more energy and play with a lot more effort and a lot more passion."

O'Neal and Dwyane Wade had subpar performances again after struggling through foul trouble in the opener, finishing with 17 and 21 points, respectively. O'Neal was just 6-for-14 from the floor with eight rebounds. Wade, who led a late charge in Game 1, never really got going, hitting 9-of-19. And both had seven turnovers.

"We really can't make any excuses tonight," O'Neal said. "It was a well played game. They just outplayed us. I had way too many turnovers. They shot the ball extremely well."

But with another full day until Tuesday's Game 2, Luol Deng expects the Heat to make a defensive adjustment about as subtle as a James Posey forearm.

"They're going to be more physical," Deng said after Sunday's practice. "I know they're going to come with a different look.

"I just have to read what they're doing because when we don't move the ball, they're very physical and hard to beat. But when we move the ball, we have them running all over the floor and it's less physical."

The Heat endured a difficult regular season. Defending their championship won't be easy, either.

Luol Deng scored 33 points, and Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni each hit two free throws in the final 19 seconds as the Bulls held off the Heat 96-91 Saturday in Game 1 of their opening-round rematch.