What is the largest comeback in NBA history as of February 2023? Closer look at record-setting win and stats after LA Lakers win vs Dallas arrives 7th
On Sunday night, the LA Lakers pulled off a historic comeback against the Dallas Mavericks. They trailed the Mavericks 48-21 with 6:52 seconds left in the second quarter. The game ended 111-108 in one of the biggest come-from-behind stories in NBA history.
The win, however, wasn't the biggest comeback in the league's annals. In 1996, the Utah Jazz authored the most impressive turnaround victory. The Jazz were down 70-34 to the Denver Nuggets before pulling out for a 107-103 win.
Teams were 0-138 this season when trailing by 27+ points
...until tonight. #LakersWin https://t.co/xkqzmTZ4DM
Up next was in 2022 when the LA Laker's rival, the LA Clippers, crawled back from the grave to beat the Washington Wizards 116-115. They won after overcoming a 35-point deficit.
The 2009 Sacramento Kings share the same place in the record books as the 2022 Clippers. Sacramento rallied from a 35-point disadvantage to beat the Chicago Bulls.
The Boston Celtics, the LA Lakers' arch-nemesis, took third place in this ranking. They overturned a 32-point disadvantage to beat the San Antonio Spurs in 2021.
There are two teams that share fourth place by bouncing back from a 30-point disadvantage. The Toronto Raptors did it against the Dallas Mavericks in 2019 while Dallas did the trick first back in 2002 versus the LA Lakers.
The Milwaukee Bucks in 1977 and the Dallas Mavericks in 2008 rallied from a 29-point deficit for fifth place in the rankings. Milwaukee won the game against the Atlanta Hawks while Dallas edged the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Four teams came back from 28 points down, which gets the sixth spot on this list. The Brooklyn Nets (2022), Portland Trail Blazers (2019), Sacramento Kings (2019) and the LA Clippers (2019) rallied from said margin to win their respective games.
Finally, the seventh spot where the LA Lakers' comeback last night belongs. Before that, the Miami Heat (2013) and Toronto Raptors (2013) also accomplished the same feat. The trio took down their respective opponents after trailing by 27 points.
LeBron James was part of two teams who had to crawl their way out of a 27-point hole. He did it last night with the Lakers and with the Heat in 2013.
The LA Lakers overcame horrendous shooting and the Dallas Mavericks' hot start to pull off the win
Things turned ugly for the LA Lakers early on. They couldn't buy a bucket while the Dallas Mavericks effortlessly put on points.
The Lakers almost didn't have anything going for them early on. However, defense, grit and a never-say-attitude helped them come through.
Darvin Ham must have pointed out some very obvious things to his team during the halftime break. Instead of jacking up threes, where they've embarassingly struggled, the LA Lakers started driving to the rim.
Once they found some sort of groove to their offense, their defense also picked up. They were more disruptive, hustled for loose balls and were more precise with their coverage of Luka Doncic, who had the hot hand in the first half.
āIāM A MOTHERFUCKING BUCKET!ā
- Anthony Davis š https://t.co/L9JO1LDuKE
Slowly but surely, the tide turned towards the LA Lakers' favor. Anthony Davis' dunk with 18.1 seconds left gave LA a 108-105 lead. They would not relinquish that until the final buzzer sounded.