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[Saba Sports News] Many fans drew harsh comparisons after the Cleveland Cavaliers’ disastrous Game 4 performance against the Indiana Pacers, calling back to one of the NBA’s most infamous playoff flops.
The Cavaliers were overwhelmed from the opening tip in Sunday’s game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, ultimately falling 129-109 — a scoreline that failed to capture just how lopsided the contest was.
Cleveland shot a brutal 25% (8-of-32) in the first half, allowing Indiana to build an 80-39 lead at halftime. That 41-point deficit tied the record for the largest halftime gap in NBA playoff history.
The blowout was especially shocking given the Cavaliers’ dominant regular season. Cleveland finished 64-18 and secured the top seed in the Eastern Conference well before season’s end.
In the aftermath, fans widely compared the Cavs to the 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks — another regular-season juggernaut that fell flat in the postseason.
Like the Cavaliers, that Hawks team finished with 60-plus wins and earned the East’s No. 1 seed, only to be swept by LeBron James and the Cavs in the Conference Finals.
Unlike the Hawks, however, this year’s Cavaliers are now on the brink of elimination in the second round — a potentially even more disappointing outcome for a team with championship aspirations.