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The LA Clippers are currently down 1-3 in their NBA Conference Finals series against the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 NBA playoffs. If they do manage to make a comeback and win the series, they will become just the 14th team to achieve the feat in the history of the NBA playoffs.
It will be an uphill task, though, as the Clippers are likely to be without their talisman Kawhi Leonard, who has been nursing a knee sprain since Game 4 of their round two series against the Utah Jazz.
The Suns, meanwhile, are at full strength and will be playing the potential series-deciding Game 5 at home, where they have a stellar 6-1 record in the 2021 NBA playoffs so far.
Nonetheless, the LA Clippers are being coached by none other than Ty Lue, the only head coach to recover from a 1-3 series deficit in the NBA Finals in postseason history. He led the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 against the Golden State Warriors to achieve the stellar feat.
On that note, let's look at the last five teams, including Ty Lue's 2016 Cavs, that have managed to overturn a 1-3 series deficit in the NBA playoffs.
#5 Denver Nuggets - 2020 NBA Playoffs vs LA Clippers
Interestingly, the last team to be at the receiving end of losing a series despite being 3-1 up are the LA Clippers.
They were led by current Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers at the time. The Clippers were the heavy favorites to reach the Conference Finals last year, especially because of the championship-caliber squad they had assembled, acquiring the likes of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
They were in a comfortable position to advance, but the Denver Nuggets had other ideas. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray were terrific in the last three games of the series, setting up a Conference Finals meeting with the eventual champions, LA Lakers.
The Denver Nuggets achieved the feat in back-to-back series in the same playoffs campaign. Earlier, they had overturned a 1-3 deficit against the Utah Jazz in round one. They also became the first team in postseason history to achieve the feat twice in the same campaign.
#4 Denver Nuggets - 2020 NBA Playoffs vs Utah Jazz
As mentioned earlier, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Utah Jazz in round one of the 2020 playoffs despite being 1-3 down. They repeated that feat against the LA Clippers in the next round.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, once again, were absolutely fantastic in leading the team to an unexpected series win. Jokic averaged 26.2 points per game, while Murray averaged 21.2 points per game in the 2020 NBA playoffs.
#3 Cleveland Cavaliers - 2016 NBA Playoffs vs Golden State Warriors
The Cleveland Cavaliers became the first team in the history of the NBA to win a Finals series despite going down 1-3. They did so against the then reigning champions, Golden State Warriors.
The series had a dramatic finish in Game 7, which ended with Kyrie Irving hitting the go-ahead three-point shot over Stephen Curry to seal the win for the Cavaliers. That is widely regarded as one of the greatest comebacks made by a franchise in the history of the NBA.
#2 Golden State Warriors - 2016 NBA Playoffs vs OKC Thunder
Before being at the receiving end of losing a series despite holding a 3-1 advantage, the Golden State Warriors themselves came off a hard-fought win over the OKC Thunder by overturning a 1-3 series deficit.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were the main architects of that series win, which helped the Golden State Warriors make their second consecutive NBA Finals appearance.
#1 Houston Rockets 2015 NBA Playoffs vs LA Clippers
The LA Clippers are the only team in the last 26 years to have lost a series twice, despite being 3-1 up. Their loss against the Houston Rockets in the 2015 NBA Conference semi-finals was probably their worst one, considering how comfortably they were placed to qualify for their first-ever Conference Finals.
Chris Paul was a part of that team and was their leader as well. He will be eager to put the Phoenix Suns in a winning position in the next game in 2021 and avoid being on the losing side of a team that is up by 3-1 yet again.
Guess the Lakers players!
