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The Only 3 Teams That Force a Game 7 From a 3:0 Loss

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By Abi Gibson - - 5 Mins Read
Joel Embiid of the Boston Celtics
Joel Embiid/Celtics/Instagram |

The Boston Celtics are Just the 4th to force Game 7 in the NBA playoff series, down 3-0, and 150 teams have started already.


 

What about the other three? Firstly were the 1951 New York Knicks, who fell behind 0-3 in the NBA Finals. They lost the first two games by a combined 42 points and rallied at home in Game 4, behind Harry Gallatin's 22 points, in an attempt to get better radio ratings for the series; 12 of them were on free throws, meaning Scott Foster's grandfather probably refereed the game.

 

Connie "Corny" Simmons and 1948 Max Zaslofsky combined for 50 points in Rochester, In Game 5, and Game 6. Zaslofsky and Ernie Vandeweghe - Kiki's father- helped the Knicks force Game 7. However,  In Game 7, a thrilling 17-15 fourth quarter gave the Rochester Royals the title, led by Hall of Famers Arnie "Stilts" Risen and the "Harrisburg Houdini," Bob Davies promoted dribbling behind his back.

 

The Denver Nuggets evolved the first No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 seed In 1994 when they knocked off the 63-win Supersonics. They fired up to 0-2 after two losses that weren't that close. However, Denver scored 41 points in the first quarter of Game 3, and they blew Seattle out, then won Games 4 and 5 in overtime. The star was second-year center Dikembe Mutombo, who blocked 22 shots in the final three games.

 

What was forgotten about that Nuggets team is that during the second round, they fell behind 0-3 to the Utah Jazz before rallying again. Denver took Game 4 by a single point and outlasted the Jazz in a double-OT Game 5 win, taking Game 6 by three points. Nonetheless, Karl Malone was too much for the plucky Nuggets in Game 7; he put up 31 points with 14 rebounds as Utah advanced. The tired Jazz then fell to the eventual champs, the Houston Rockets, in the conference finals.

The 20 Years Great History Finally Broken

The most recent event where an 0-3 team made it to Game 7 was 20 years ago, in 2003, when the Portland Trail Blazers had dropped the first three games to the Dallas Mavericks. At first, Portland held Steve Nash scoreless in a Game 4 rout. Later, Rasheed Wallace led a fourth-quarter comeback to steal Game 5 in Dallas, and Game 6 was an even bigger blowout than Game 4.

 

However, Dirk Nowitzki finally got some help in Game 7 which came in the form of 26 points from Nick Van Exel and 21 from Nash, as the Mavs held on to win the series. Nine months later, Wallace had been traded to the Pistons, Bonzi Wells and Scottie Pippen was gone, and the Blazers began breaking up their team. Could the story have changed if they'd made history in Dallas?


 

And now, the Celtics have a chance to make history again. But as Charles Barkley reminded Jaylen Brown after Game 6, saying a team only makes history by winning Game 7, not getting there.

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