List of the Greatest NBA Playoff Comebacks in History – NBC Los Angeles

The NBA playoffs have been full of comebacks in recent years.

It started in 2021 when the Atlanta Hawks came back from a deficit of 18 in Game 4 of their second-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Brooklyn Nets then staged a 17-point comeback against the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 behind a Herculean performance from Kevin Durant.

And it was just beginning.

The Hawks took things a step further by erasing a 26-point deficit in Game 5 against the Sixers at the Wells Fargo Center. Two days later, the Los Angeles Clippers reached their first-ever Western Conference Finals after a 25-point comeback in Game 6 at home against the Utah Jazz.

Less than a week into the 2022 playoffs, the league made another historic comeback. The Memphis Grizzlies overcame a 26-point deficit to steal Game 3 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Memphis trailed by 26 in the second quarter and 23 in the third before the game ended with a 54-22 run.

Now, in 2024, the Timberwolves have made a historic comeback. Anthony Edwards and Co. trailed by 20 points in the third quarter of Game 7 on the road against the defending champion Denver Nuggets. They closed the game with a 60-32 run in the final 22 minutes to steal the series.

Although the Timberwolves' comeback was the largest in Game 7, it is not close to the greatest comeback in postseason history. Here are the seven biggest playoff wins that came from behind:

T-4. Boston Celtics 94, New Jersey Nets 90: 26 points (2002 Conference Finals, Game 3)

The Celtics returned home for Game 3 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals after stealing Game 2 on the road. Led by Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker, the Celtics wanted to appear in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1987.

Unfortunately for Boston, Game 3 at its home stadium did not start as planned. The Celtics were outscored by the Nets in each of the first three quarters and trailed by as many as 26 points. The Celtics entered the fourth quarter trailing 74-53 and outscored the Nets 41-16 in the final period, leading to one of the greatest comebacks in postseason history. Pierce scored 28 points (21 in the second half) while Walker added 23. The excitement of the comeback was short-lived, however, as the Nets won the final three games of the series.

T-4. Cleveland Cavaliers 119, Indiana Pacers 114: 26 points (first round 2017, game 3)

In their first series since their epic 3-1 comeback against the Golden State Warriors, the Cavaliers had one of their most difficult wins in recent memory. Cleveland defeated the seventh-seeded Pacers at home in their first two games by one and six points, respectively.

Game 3 was a completely different story. The Pacers took a 25-point lead at halftime and were 26 points ahead of the Cavs. LeBron James took the lead in the second half, dropping 28 points, seven assists and six rebounds in all 24 minutes of play. Cleveland outscored Indiana 70-40 after halftime and won by five points.

T-4. Atlanta Hawks 109, Philadelphia 76ers 106: 26 points (2021 second round, Game 5)

That Sixers implosion against the Hawks might have felt like déjà vu for Doc Rivers. His 2014-15 Clippers team blew a 19-point lead late in the third quarter against Corey Brewer, Josh Smith and the Houston Rockets in Game 6 of the West semifinals (before losing the series in seven games), and the head coach watched something similar happen in the 2021 East semifinals.

After building a 26-point lead in the third quarter, the Sixers completely collapsed on both ends of the court. Trae Young scored 25 points and six assists in the second half as the Hawks shot over 60% from the field and scored 69 points against the NBA's No. 2 defense.

Meanwhile, the Sixers committed 10 turnovers, missed eight free throws and had a shooting percentage of less than 38% after halftime. Their bench was outscored 30-2. Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris combined to shoot 0 of 5 for two points. Seth Curry and Embiid were the only players to make at least one field goal, scoring 38 of their team's 44 points. Yikes.

T-4. Memphis Grizzlies 104, Minnesota Timberwolves 95: 26 points (2022 first round, Game 3)

The Timberwolves hosted just their third playoff game in 18 years when they hosted the Grizzlies for Game 3 of their 2022 first-round series. Minnesota also got off to a brilliant start and took a lead of 26 points in the second quarter.

Memphis was able to erase this deficit at halftime and was only seven points behind after the second quarter. Minnesota then extended its lead again and prevailed 73-50 with 4:28 left in the third period.

The rest of the game was all about the Grizzlies. After leading 83-62, Minnesota allowed Memphis to go on a 21-0 run and sprint to the finish line, securing a 2-1 lead in the series with a 104-95 victory.

The Timberwolves defeated the Denver Nuggets to reach the Western Conference Finals for the second time in franchise history. Minnesota faces the Dallas Mavericks.

3. Los Angeles Clippers 99, Memphis Grizzlies 98: 27 points (first round 2012, game 1)

After the Clippers came back from trailing by 27 late in the third quarter to win, Blake Griffin told reporters, “We put a mask on and robbed this one.”

The host Grizzlies went up by 20 in the first quarter and extended their lead to 84-57 with 1:50 left in the third. The Clippers trailed by 21 points entering the fourth quarter, setting the NBA record for largest deficit overcome after three quarters. The Clippers shot 76.5% in the fourth period, made 5 of 6 3-point attempts and finished the game on a 28-3 run.

Nick Young hit back-to-back three-pointers to make the game a one-possession game at 96-93 with 1:47 left. Griffin hit two free throws to pull LA within one point with 1:30 left. On the Clippers' next possession, Reggie Evans converted a layup off an assist from Chris Paul for a 97-96 lead with 50.3 seconds left. Rudy Gay then put the Grizzlies back on top after hitting a jumper. Seconds later, Paul was fouled and hit both free throws with 23.7 seconds left, so LA wouldn't give up. The Clippers won the series in seven games.

2. Los Angeles Lakers 97, Seattle SuperSonics 95: 29 points (1989 second round, Game 4)

The Seattle SuperSonics are already eliminated with a lead of 29 points.

After trailing 3-0 in the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Sonics kept LA in check with 4:20 goals in the first quarter and led 43:14 just 14 minutes into the game. During a timeout shortly afterward, Magic Johnson was heard saying before halftime, “Let's just cut it to 15.” They did even better, ending the half with a 16-0 run and cutting the Sonics' lead to 11.

The Lakers continued their performance in the second half, taking the lead with 6:14 left after Orlando Woolridge hit two free throws that made the score 82-81. James Worthy, who made just two 3-pointers in the regular season, later converted a corner 3 to extend the lead to 88-83. The Lakers hit some late free throws to secure the comeback win and advance to the Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Suns.

Worthy finished with 33 points on 15-for-19 shooting. Johnson added 17 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

The Lakers tore their way across the West, winning 11 straight before being defeated by the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals.

1. Los Angeles Clippers 135, Golden State Warriors 131: 31 points (first round 2019, game 2)

The greatest single-game comeback in NBA playoff history came against one of the strongest squads of all time.

Durant, Steph Curry and the Warriors were two-time defending champions in 2019 and favorites to go three-peat. After winning Game 1, the Dubs had a commanding lead of 94-63 with 7:31 left in the third quarter. Then the Clippers played with full force in the second half.

LA scored 85 points in the second half behind two star reserves. Montrezl Harrell played a perfect 9-for-9 game and finished the game with a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. The real star of the comeback was a player who also helped bring about the Hawks' aforementioned turnaround: Lou Williams. The 2019 NBA Sixth Man of the Year scored 36 points and 11 assists off the bench, helping the team claw back and even win the series. Golden State won the series in six games before falling to the Toronto Raptors in the finals.

The game also marked another crazy rally with Rivers, who seems to be making big comebacks and collapsing wherever he goes.

Mike Gavin, Max Molski, Eric Mullin and Logan Reardon contributed to this story.