When the Philadelphia 76ers took a 70-44 lead on the Atlanta Hawks in game five of the Eastern Conference semifinal on Wednesday night, two minutes and 38 seconds into the second half, not many expected what would happen over the next hour and a half. But it was the Hawks that would go on an offensive onslaught and outscore Philadelphia 65-36 in the final 21 minutes and 22 seconds of the game.
The Hawks leader was Trae Young, who scored a career postseason high 39 points. The fact that Atlanta came away with a W, even seemed unlikely near the end of game five, as Philadelphia still had a comfortable 104-94 lead with four minutes and 23 seconds left. That is when Young and company took over and outscored Philadelphia 15-2 for the remarkable three-point, 109-106 Atlanta win, as the Hawks took a three games to two series lead. The Atlanta win despite being 26 points down, is tied for the fourth-largest comeback in NBA Playoff history. Let us take a look at the other five amazing comebacks ever in the NBA postseason.
4) Boston Celtics–26 points–The Celtics were down by 26 points at 65-39 to the Brooklyn Nets with three minutes and 29 seconds into the second half. That is when Boston outscored Brooklyn 55-25 for the 94-90 win in game three of the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals.
4) Cleveland Cavaliers–26 points–The Cavaliers were down by 26 points at 72-46 to the Indiana Pacers with 50 seconds left in the first half of game three of the 2017 Eastern Conference quarterfinals. That is when Cleveland outscored Indiana 73-42 for the remainder of the game for a 119-114 win. LeBron James had 41 points in the Cleveland win as the Cavaliers went on to sweep the Pacers.
3) Los Angeles Clippers–27 points–In game one of the 2012 Western Conference quarterfinals, the Clippers were trailing the Memphis Grizzlies 84-57 with two minutes and 12 seconds left in the third quarter. That is when Los Angeles outscored Memphis 42-14 for the improbable 99-98 win.
2) Los Angeles Lakers–29 points–In game four of the 1989 Western Conference semifinals, the Lakers were trailing the Seattle Supersonics 43-14 just two minutes into the second quarter. The Lakers dominated thereafter, outscoring Seattle 83-54 for the 97-95 win to sweep the series.
1)Los Angeles Clippers–31 points–In game two of the 2019 Western Conference quarterfinals, the Clippers were trailing the Golden State Warriors 94-63 with four minutes and 29 seconds into the second half. The Clippers were flawless thereafter and outscored Golden State 72-37 for the 135-131 win. A total of 83 of the 135 points the Clippers got in the game were off their bench.
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