The Dallas Mavericks found themselves in a hole early Thursday night in Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals.
Before they could get comfortable at TD Garden, the Boston Celtics took a 17-point lead after 12 minutes, the largest lead of any team in the first quarter of a Game 1 in history NBA Finals. Boston continued to pile on and led by as many as 29 points in the second quarter before Dallas began to chip away.
The Mavericks cut the deficit to eight points in the third quarter but were unable to fully complete their comeback, losing 107-89. If they had, it would have made NBA history.
The largest single-game comeback in the NBA playoffs is 31 points, set in 2019 when the Los Angeles Clippers erased a 31-point deficit to win Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against Golden State. Warriors. The Clippers outscored Golden State 85-58 in the second half to win this game.
But when it comes to the NBA Finals, the biggest comeback came when the Celtics came from 24 points down to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 of the 2008 Finals.
|
DATE |
MATCH |
DEFICIT |
FINAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
|
June 12, 2008 |
Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers |
Lakers led by 24 points |
Celtics 97, Lakers 91 |
The Celtics entered Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals with a 2–1 series lead. They swept the first two games of the series at TD Banknorth Garden and lost 87-81 in an ugly defensive battle in Game 3 at then-Staples Center.
Los Angeles came out hot in the first quarter of Game 4, shooting 64.7% from the field and taking a 35-14 lead after 12 minutes while the Celtics shot just 27.3% (6 of 22). The Lakers took a 24-point lead in the second quarter when Sasha Vujacic scored a three-pointer off a pass from Kobe Bryant to make it 45-21.
The score remained 45-21 for nearly two minutes of play, as the teams traded misses, until Celtics forward Kevin Garnet knocked down a mid-range jumper. And the Celtics’ comeback began.
Boston still trailed the Lakers by 18 points at halftime, but pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring Los Angeles 31-15. They tied the game at 73 with 10:13 left in the fourth quarter and took their first lead of the game at 84-83 with 4:07 left. From there, they closed on a 13-8 run to win 97-91 and take a 3-1 series lead.
The Lakers led for 40:30 of play. They couldn’t miss in the first half, but shot just 33.3 percent from the field over the final two quarters, missing all eight attempts from downtown . Bryant and Pau Gasol recorded a plus/minus of -24 in the second half.
Garnet had a double-double in 37 minutes, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. But it was James Posey who provided the spark coming off the bench, recording 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting and making four three-pointers.
Facing a 24-point deficit in the NBA Finals? As Garnett would say after Boston won Game 6 and were crowned champions, anything is possible.
