Celtics nearing elite company: A look at greatest NBA playoff comebacks
The Boston Celtics are one win from making NBA history after a thrilling 104-103 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday.
With the series returning to Boston for Game 7 on Monday, the Celtics are looking to become the first team in league history to overcome a 0-3 series deficit. Teams that fell behind 0-3 are 0-150 all time in the NBA playoffs.
Should the Celtics pull off a victory that once seemed improbable, it’d amount to the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history. Here’s a look at how previous examples match up:
1968 Eastern Division finals
Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Though the Celtics captured 11 titles in 13 seasons between 1957 and 1969, they still faced obstacles. In 1968, when the playoffs featured eight teams and conferences were referred to as divisions, the Celtics were down 3-1 to the Philadelphia 76ers. After winning the opener in Philly, Boston lost three in a row, including two at home as part of the antiquated home-and-away playoff format.
The 76ers were juggernauts, Wilt Chamberlain had just won a third MVP on the spin, and they had ended the Celtics’ reign of eight straight titles the previous year. One could excuse Bill Russell’s charges for packing up shop.
All seemed lost until John Havlicek and Sam Jones combined for 66 points in a Game 5 victory (Russell had eight points and an absurd 24 rebounds). The Celtics would go on to win the remaining two games, becoming the first team in league history to come back from a 3–1 series deficit.
1969 Finals
Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Winners of 10 of the previous 12 NBA titles, the Celtics entered the 1969 Finals as considerable underdogs to the Los Angeles Lakers. The iconic trio of Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and Chamberlain led the Lakers, who boasted the top seed in the West. Meanwhile, the Celtics finished fourth in the East and featured an aging core with player-coach Russell at the helm. West scored a combined 94 points in the first two contests as the Lakers raced out to a 2-0 advantage, establishing a deficit for the Celtics that no team in NBA history had previously overcome in the Finals.
Russell finally opted to double-team NBA logo muse West in Game 3, and the Celtics prevailed behind 34 points from Havlicek before evening the series at two games apiece in Beantown. Despite dropping Game 5, Boston would eventually win the series in seven in L.A., leaving thousands of “World Champion Lakers” balloons left suspended in the Forum rafters. West averaged 38 points and became the first (and only) Finals MVP ever to play for the losing team.
1995 Western Conference semifinals
Houston Rockets vs. Phoenix Suns
After losing a seven-game barn burner to the eventual champion Houston Rockets in the 1994 conference semifinals, the Phoenix Suns – led by stars Kevin Johnson and Charles Barkley – were out for revenge in 1995. This time around, Phoenix had home-court advantage against the No. 6 seed Rockets. The Suns got off to a blazing start, winning the series’ first two games by a combined 46 points. They went on to take Game 4 in Houston, returning home for Game 5 with a commanding 3-1 series lead.
That’s when everything turned. Reigning MVP Hakeem Olajuwon played 50 of a possible 53 minutes in Game 5, helping the Rockets survive in overtime. They then produced a dominant second half to earn a double-digit home win, forcing a Game 7. With the deciding contest coming down to the wire tied at 110, Rockets wing Mario Elie drained a corner 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds remaining, later dubbed the “Kiss of Death” as a tribute to Elie’s celebration. Led by Olajuwon’s dominant play, Houston went on to capture its second straight championship. The 1995 Rockets remain the only team seeded lower than fourth to ever win the title.
2006 Finals
Miami Heat vs. Dallas Mavericks
Mired by a 0-2 series deficit and down 13 with six minutes left in the fourth quarter against betting favorites the Dallas Mavericks, Dwyane Wade engineered a momentum-crushing comeback to steal a 98-96 Game 3 win. Wade finished with 42 points and 13 assists, and Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki had a chance to tie the game from the charity stripe with 3.4 seconds left but missed one of two efforts.
That miss would prove costly for the Mavs. The Heat reeled off three successive victories to claim the title, becoming just the fourth team in league history to win a championship after trailing 0–2 in the series. The Mavs would get their revenge against a Heat team that included LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Wade in the 2011 Finals, winning the first and only championship in franchise history.
2015 Western Conference semifinals
Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Clippers
After three straight years of early playoff exits, the Chris Paul and Blake Griffin-led Los Angeles Clippers finally seemed primed for a trip to the Western Conference finals. A comfortable 3-1 series lead over the Rockets slipped to 3-2, but L.A. appeared to have things under control and was up 19 in the third quarter of Game 6. Fueled by an 18-0 run, the Rockets stormed back and won the fourth quarter 40-15 en route to a season-saving victory. Houston then completed the comeback in a relatively sweat-free Game 7.
L.A.’s coach for this stunning blown series? None other than Doc Rivers, infamous for his playoff struggles. Rivers sports a head-turning 16-33 record when his teams have three wins in a playoff series after his Philadelphia 76ers blew a 3-2 lead to the Celtics earlier this month.
The 2015 Rockets went on to lose to the Golden State Warriors in the next round, a trend that continued over the following years – even after Paul joined Houston in 2017.
2016 Finals
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors
After a historic 73-9 regular season, the Warriors entered the playoffs as heavy championship favorites. They met the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals for the second straight year and appeared to be on their way to another title. Stephen Curry scored 38 points in Game 4, and the Warriors took full control in the second half, winning by double-digits for the third time in the series.
It all changed with a scuffle between Draymond Green and James in the final few minutes of Game 4. Green was later assessed a flagrant-1 foul for striking James in the groin area, which resulted in a one-game suspension for his accumulation of flagrant points. The Cavaliers won Game 5 in the Bay behind 41-point performances from both James and Kyrie Irving, then cruised in Game 6, led by 41 points and 11 assists from James.
You know the rest: From Irving’s late go-ahead 3-pointer to James’ iconic block on Andre Iguodala, Game 7 delivered some unforgettable moments in one of the NBA’s greatest duels. The Cavaliers were victorious, and James finally delivered on his promise of winning a championship for his home state.
