The 5 Most Competitive Sweeps in NBA Playoff History

1. Cleveland Cavaliers over Indiana Pacers, 2017

Avg. MOV: 4.0; Net Rating: 4.3

LeBron James and the Big Three Cavs probably looked at this first rounder against a questionable Pacers squad as a mere speed bump on their path to a third straight Finals appearance. In reality, though, it was a legitimate test.

In all four games, Paul George and the new-school Hickory boys forced the Cavs to be at their best. It all started in Game 1 in Quicken Loans Arena, the home of the reigning NBA champions. There, the Cavs sprinted out to a 34-29 first-quarter lead and a 66-59 halftime advantage, but they were then outscored 49-46 in the second half, which made things a lot closer (109-108) than they wanted for an opening game. Fortunately, LeBron was otherworldly, scoring 32 points, handing out 13 dimes, and ripping down 6 boards.

You'd think that Cleveland would've learned from Game 1, but not so much. In Game 2, they once again topped 60 by halftime, and they had a five-point gap in their favor. But after a 33-20 third quarter, the Pacers stormed back to win the fourth by 12 points, narrowing the final score to 117-111 and, in the process, forcing Cavs fans to hold their breath longer than they would've liked. George's 32 points played a large part in that, but it wasn't enough to overcome Kyrie Irving's game-high 37.

Tensions were awfully high as LeBron and his troops marched to Indianapolis for Game 3. Indiana did their part to make things even more interesting, popping off a 37-point first quarter, followed by a 37-point second quarter. By half, the score was 74-49 Pacers. We don't know what happened in the Cleveland locker room, but whatever transpired led to a dominant second half for Team Bron-Bron. They scored 35 in each of the final two quarters, and James finished the game with a 41-point triple-double.

Although not one quarter or half was dominated by a particular team, Game 4 yielded the same results. Whereas Cleveland was marginally better in quarters two and three, Indiana won quarters one and four. The Cavs led 58-52 after 24 minutes, and the Pacers won the second half by two points, which led to another single-digit victory.

While the final tally for the series would indicate another dominant win for the King and his army, it was far from it. The Cavaliers outscored the Pacers by just 16 points over the four games, and that's with James playing at his best (32.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 3.0 steals and 2.0 blocks per game) for the entirety of the four-game set.