5 teams that recently recovered from a 1-3 deficit in the NBA playoffs

2016 NBA Finals - Game Seven
2016 NBA Finals - Game Seven

#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

LA Clippers vs Houston Rockets
LA Clippers vs Houston Rockets

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.

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