Data story · NBA Playoffs

The biggest NBA playoff comebacks since 2011.

Sixteen postseasons, 1,339 games, and only 21 won by a team that was 20 or more behind at the end of a minute. More than half of those 21 were won on the road.

Every strip on this page is a real NBA Playoffs strip from the Huezle app, drawn by the app’s own code. More about NBA Playoffs.

How to read the strips

Each strip is one playoff game, tip-off on the left and the final buzzer on the right, one band per minute. A band shows the score at the end of that minute: purple when the away team was leading, gold when the home team was leading, and the paler the band, the closer the score. A comeback is a long, deep run of one colour, a fade to pale, and a few bands of the other colour at the very end.

How rare it is

Winner’s biggest deficit at a minute markGames, 2011–2026
Never trailed251
Under 10 points808
10 to 14 points195
15 to 19 points64
20 points or more21

Fewer than one playoff game in sixty is won from 20 down. And the crowd is not what does it: home teams won 60% of all playoff games in the data, yet away teams won 11 of the 21 biggest comebacks. A team that falls 20 behind at home is, on these numbers, no more likely to recover than one that falls 20 behind on the road.

Two 29-point comebacks with the same shape

The two largest comebacks in the data are almost the same strip in opposite colours. In both, the deficit peaked at the end of the 21st minute, the winner was still more than 25 behind at halftime, and the winner did not lead at the end of any minute until the 47th.

2025 First Round, Game 3: Thunder at GrizzliesGold for most of the first half: Memphis led by 26 at halftime. Oklahoma City had it to eight after three quarters and won 114–108.
Tip-offFinal Buzzer
  • Away Leading
  • Tied
  • Home Leading
2026 NBA Finals, Game 4: Spurs at KnicksThe mirror image, in the Finals. San Antonio led by 27 at halftime and 15 after three quarters. New York won 107–106 to lead the series 3–1.
Tip-offFinal Buzzer
  • Away Leading
  • Tied
  • Home Leading

The second one is the outlier. No other Finals game in the data had a comeback of more than 16 points; the series is told in the 2026 NBA Finals guide.

Slow climbs and second comebacks

Not every comeback is a late rush. Some are a steady fade and some come back twice.

2022 First Round, Game 3: Grizzlies at TimberwolvesTwo dark gold blocks. Minnesota led by 26 early in the second quarter, let it shrink to seven at halftime, then built it back to 25 in the third. Memphis led for good from the 41st minute and won 104–95.
Tip-offFinal Buzzer
  • Away Leading
  • Tied
  • Home Leading
2012 First Round, Game 1: Clippers at GrizzliesThe late rush. Memphis were still 21 ahead after three quarters, and the Clippers did not lead at a minute mark until the 48th. They won 99–98.
Tip-offFinal Buzzer
  • Away Leading
  • Tied
  • Home Leading

In a Game 7

2024 West semifinals, Game 7: Timberwolves at NuggetsDenver led by 20 two minutes into the second half. Minnesota were ahead for good from the 39th minute and won 98–90.
Tip-offFinal Buzzer
  • Away Leading
  • Tied
  • Home Leading

It is the largest Game 7 comeback in the data. Elimination games rarely turn like this: the team leading at halftime won 39 of the 54 Game 7s. More on those in NBA playoff Game 7s, and for the games that went the other way, the biggest playoff blowouts.

Why the numbers can differ from the record books. Each band is the score at the end of a minute, so a lead that peaked for a few seconds inside a minute is not drawn. These are the biggest comebacks in this data, not official NBA records.

Huezle draws a real playoff game like these and asks which two teams played. Try naming one from the comeback alone.

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Questions

What is the biggest comeback in NBA playoff history?

The record usually cited is the LA Clippers coming back from 31 points down at Golden State in 2019. In this minute-by-minute data, which only records the score at the end of each minute, the biggest are two 29-point comebacks: Oklahoma City at Memphis in 2025 and New York against San Antonio in the 2026 Finals.

What is the biggest comeback in an NBA Finals game?

In the 2011–2026 data it is Game 4 of the 2026 Finals, when the Knicks trailed the Spurs by 29 at a minute mark and won 107–106. No other Finals game in the data had a comeback of more than 16 points.

How often do NBA playoff teams come back from 20 points down?

Rarely. Of 1,339 playoff games from 2011 to 2026, 21 were won by a team that trailed by 20 or more at the end of a minute, and 11 of those were road wins.

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