Teams That Fall Behind 3-1 in the NBA Finals Are 0-32 All-Time
By Jason McIntyre
In the history of the NBA Finals, 32 teams have taken a 3-1 series lead.
No team has rallied from that deficit to win the NBA Championship.
Given that LeBron James is putting on arguably the greatest NBA Finals performance in NBA history – even if you don’t buy the averages of 41 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists through three games, please read this – and the fact that there’s an extra day of rest between Games 4 and 5 … the Warriors are facing must-win Thursday.
The most recent examples of 3-1 leads in the NBA Finals:
2014 Spurs 3-1 over Heat, Spurs win Title
2012 Heat 3-1 over Thunder, Heat win Title
2009 Lakers 3-1 over Magic, Lakers win the Title
2008 Celtics 3-1 over Lakers, Celtics win the Title
In fact, you have to go all the way back to 1966 to find a series in which a team led 3-1 and the series went seven games. (It also happened in 1951 with Rochester vs. New York.) The Celtics beat the Lakers in Game 7, 95-93 to capture its 8th straight NBA Title.
We have, however, seen teams rally from 3-1 deficits in the playoffs to win a series. Nine teams have done it, including the Houston Rockets last month against the LA Clippers.
So Thursday the Warriors will have to push tempo, get the game more to their liking, and hope to wear down the Cavaliers and their short bench. Draymond Green needs his confidence back. He’s shooting 15% on 3-pointers in his last 10 games. Harrison Barnes was a horrendous 0-for-8 in just 19 minutes in Game 3. If neither of them is able to be a factor – the Cavs are taking away the Splash Brothers and giving anyone else open shots – and the Warriors fall behind 3-1, Cleveland’s gonna get ready for the biggest party the city has ever seen.