NBA teams since 2000 to overcome a 3-1 playoff deficit
3-1 comebacks in the NBA Playoffs come every so often, with very few teams being able to rally back from the brink of elimination.
From winning championships to making deep playoff runs, overcoming such a deficit has spurred teams to create history for franchises.
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Since 2000, there have been seven occasions where teams have won a playoff series from 3-1, let's reflect on how they did it!
The Orlando Magic's superstar Tracy McGrady destroyed the Detroit Pistons in the opening four games of the Eastern Conference first round, averaging nearly 40 points.
The Pistons turned their defense up, holding McGrady to 25.7 points per game in the final three. Detroit's Chauncey Billups scored 40 in game six and 37 in game seven, completing the unlikely turnaround.
It was the Kobe Bryant show in the opening four games of the Western Conference first-round matchup between The Lakers and The Suns, with Bryant putting Phoenix on the brink of elimination after a game-winning shot in game four.
The Suns flicked a switch coming into game five, winning the final three games by a points margin of 18.7, despite Bryant dropping 50 in game six.
The Houston Rockets stunned the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference semi-finals, overcoming a 3-1 deficit after losing by 15 or more in the first four games.
A 40-15 fourth quarter in game six, erasing a 19-point deficit, and James Harden's 31 points in game seven, was enough to see Houston fly into the conference finals.
The 73-9 Golden State Warriors had their season hanging the balance in the Western Conference finals, being down 3-1 to Kevin Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder.
Klay Thompson scored a playoff record of 11 three-pointers in game six, finishing with 41 points, and Steph Curry produced 36 in game seven, sending The Warriors to the finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers landed their first-ever NBA title, becoming the first team in finals history to overcome a 3-1 deficit, beating The Warriors after they had done the same thing in the previous round.
Cleveland's LeBron James scored 41 points in 43 minutes in games five and six, including a 27-point triple-double in game seven, securing Cleveland's first professional sports title in 52 years.
Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz willed their way to a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference first round in the 2020 NBA bubble.
A 42-point and 50-point game in games five and six for Jamal Murray brought the series back level, but Nikola Jokic put the icing on the cake for The Nuggets, scoring 30 points in game seven, taking them to the next round.
The Denver Nuggets became the first team in postseason history to come back from a 3-1 series deficit twice in the same playoff run, beating the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference semi-finals.
Jokic and Murray both stamped their authority on the series, with Jokic scoring 34 in game six and Murray scoring 40 in game seven, improving their record to 6-0 when facing elimination.
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