The 11 Biggest Blown Leads In The History Of The NBA Playoffs

“It ain’t over till it’s over” is one of the many sayings credited to Yogi Berra, and while he may not have actually coined that particular phrase, it’s one that certainly applies to sports—including the games that transpire in the NBA Playoffs.

We haven’t even made it through the second round of the NBA Playoffs, but there have already been four games where teams who were down by at least 20 points at some point were able to rally and walk away with the win (including the Pacers, who managed to do it against the Bucks and the Cavaliers).

One of those comebacks came courtesy of the second-largest blown lead in NBA postseason history, so I figured there was no better time to take a look back at the most improbable turns of fortune that have unfolded.

Clippers: Down 31 Against The Warriors

The top-seeded Warriors headed into the playoffs in 2019 hoping to pull off the three-peat, and it was hard to imagine they were going to have too much trouble against the Clippers in the first round.

That was especially true after they won the first game before taking a commanding lead in Game 2, which appeared firmly out of reach when you consider Golden State pulled out to a 94-63 lead with around 7:30 to go in the fourth quarter.

However, the Clippers didn’t hear no bell and slowly but surely crawled back into the contest during a 72-37 run that ended with Los Angeles tying up the series with the 135-131 win.

The Warriors bounced back by winning the next two games before the Clippers were able to answer, but Steph Curry and Co. eventually put them away in Game 6.

Thunder: Down 29 Points Against The Grizzlies

The Thunder were firmly the best team in the NBA this season after finishing with a 68-14 record, and it was hard to envy the Grizzlies after they got matched up with them in the first round.

Memphis got off to a very inauspicious start thanks to a 131-80 thrashing in Game 1 that was good for the fifth-largest blowout in the history of the NBA Playoffs.

They didn’t fare much better with a 19-point loss in Game 2, but the tables turned after the Grizzlies pulled out to an early lead in the third game of the series and stretched it to 29 points with around three minutes left in the second quarter.

However, Ja Morant exited the contest shortly after, and OKC took full advantage of his absence to fight back in the second half before taking the lead with a little over a minute left and securing the 114-118 victory.

It was a demoralizing loss for the Grizzlies, who were without Morant in Game 4 and ended up being swept.

Lakers: Down 29 Points Against The SuperSonics

The Lakers were also hoping to pull off the three-peat when the postseason rolled around in 1989, and while they were swept by the Pistons in the Finals after falling victim to a couple of big injuries, they absolutely dominated their Western Conference opponents by sweeping the first three series leading up to that point.

The SuperSonics had the chance to blemish that record in the second round during the do-or-die Game 4 where they had a 43-14 lead in the second quarter.

Unfortunately, Seattle was unable to keep the momentum going as Los Angeles mounted a comeback led by James Worthy, who ended up with 33 points as the Lakers clinched the series by squeaking out a fairly improbable 97-95 win.

Clippers: Down 27 Against The Grizzlies

The Grizzlies and the Clippers respectively earned the fourth and fifth seed in the Western Conference in 2012 to set up what was poised to be a well-fought first battle.

However, that wasn’t the case for the bulk of the first game, as the Grizzlies had a 27-point lead in the third quarter and were up 95-71 with a little over nine minutes to go in the fourth.

Things took a pretty wild turn from that point, as Los Angeles managed to hold Memphis to a lone bucket from the floor—a shot by Rudy Gay that helped stop the bleeding and gave the Grizzlies a 98-97 lead with less than 30 seconds to go.

However, Chris Paul was fouled just a few seconds later to put the Clippers up 99-98, and that was the score that stood until the final horn blew.

The series ended up going to seven games, and Los Angeles advanced before being swept by the Spurs in the second round.

Grizzlies: Down 26 Against The Timberwolves

The Grizzlies have fallen victim to two of the biggest comebacks in the history of the NBA Playoffs, but they can take a little bit of solace in knowing they were also responsible for one of them.

Memphis and Minnesota split the first two games of their first-round matchup in 2022, and the Timberwolves took command of Game 3 early on by pulling out to a 47-21 lead toward the start of the second quarter.

However, the momentum firmly shifted after the Grizzlies went on a 15-0 run and prevented their opponent from making a field goal for close to nine minutes to narrow things up.

Memphis eventually took the lead in the middle of the fourth quarter and never looked back before earning the 104-95 win. The Timberwolves evened things up in Game 4 but were sent home for the season after losing the next two.

Hawks: Down 26 Against The 76ers

The 76ers were the top seed in the Eastern Conference in 2021, and they were looking to get over the hump after three consecutive postseason runs ended short of the conference final.

Philadelphia met the Hawks in the second round after dispatching the Wizards in the first, and Atlanta drew first blood after almost managing to blow a 26-point lead in Game 1.

The 76ers were not as lucky in Game 5, as the Hawks—who overcame an 18-point deficit to even things at two games apiece in the previous contest—were down by 26 at the start of the third quarter before they finally managed to get their act together.

Atlanta surged back for the 109-106 win and ultimately took the series in seven games.

Cavaliers: Down 26 Points Against The Pacers

LeBron James and the second-seeded Cavaliers pulled out to a 2-0 lead over the Pacers in the first round in 2017 before heading to Indianapolis for Game 3, and it seemed like the home team was going to reap the benefits of the friendly crowd.

The Pacers had a 26-point lead at halftime, and Jeff Teague once hilariously described what transpired at that point while recounting the decidedly confident and unfazed attitude LeBron had when the teams were heading into the locker room.

It wasn’t misplaced, as he finished with 41 points and a triple-double while helming the second-half comeback that ended with the Cavs getting the 119-114 victory en route to securing the sweep that preceded their run to the NBA Finals (where they lost to the Warriors).

Celtics: Down 26 Points Against The Nets

The 2002 Eastern Conference Finals featured the Nets and the Celtics in a series where the squads were tied up heading into Game 3.

The team that was still based in New Jersey at that point had a 65-39 lead over Boston in the third quarter and were still up by 21 by the time the fourth kicked off

However, the Celtics surged during a frame where Paul Pierce outscored the entire Nets team by dropping 19 points compared to the 16 they managed to put on the board to get the 94-90 win and take a 2-1 lead.

Unfortunately, the Nets bounced back to win three games in a row before losing to the Lakers in the finals.

Clippers: Down 25 Points Against The Jazz

There have been three occasions where a team squandered a 25-point lead in the NBA Playoffs, and the Jazz have the dubious distinction of being responsible for two of them.

The Clippers are also making another appearance for a good reason thanks to what went down during Game 6 of their second-round showdown in 2021.

Utah needed a win to force Game 7 and seemed well on its way to doing so with a 76-51 lead with around eight minutes left in the third quarter.

Unfortunately, Los Angeles went on a 70-39 run after that point and put the series away with a decisive 131-119 exclamation point.

Thunder: Down 25 Points Against The Jazz

That loss reopened a fairly fresh wound the Jazz had previously suffered against the Thunder in 2018.

Utah had a 3-1 lead in their first-round series and the chance to put things away in Game 5, which looked like a very real possibility when you consider they were up 25 points with more than eight minutes to go in the third quarter.

However, the Thunder were able to deliver a ton of blows with the help of the one-two punch consisting of Russell Westbrook and Paul George, who respectively finished with 45 and 34 points to keep OKC’s season alive with the 107-99 victory.

The Jazz weren’t down for the count, as they answered with a 96-91 victory in Game 6 to seal the deal.

Warriors: Down 25 Points Against The Spurs

The Warriors Dynasty was in full force when they met the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals in 2017, and San Antonio joined the long list of teams who ended up terrorized by it during that series.

You can’t talk about that showdown without discussing the ankle injury that forced Kawhi Leonard to exit Game 1 in the third quarter and caused him to miss the rest of the series.

It was a devastating blow for a San Antonio team that had a 25-point lead in the second quarter but was unable to overcome the loss of its best player as Golden State took advantage to get the 113-111 victory on the back of a 40-point performance from Steph Curry.

The Warriors swept the series and went on to win the second of the three championships they secured during their five consecutive NBA Finals appearances.