On Sep. 15, 2020, the Denver Nuggets made NBA history by winning Game 7 over the LA Clippers 104-89 in the Western Conference Semifinals.
The victory capped-off the Nuggets' 3-1 comeback and booked the franchise's fourth-ever Conference Finals and first since 2009. Their resurgence made them the 12th team and 10th different franchise in NBA Playoffs history to rebound from a 3-1 series deficit.
Denver became one of three franchises (Boston, Houston) to record multiple 3-1 series comebacks, however, the Nuggets set themselves apart by doing so in the same postseason (2020) having also beaten the Utah Jazz in the first round after being down 3-1.
MORE: Full list of NBA teams to record 3-1 comebacks
In this game, Jamal Murray dropped 40 and Nikola Jokic stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 22 rebounds, 13 assists, three blocks and two steals as the Nuggets flipped a 12-point first-half deficit into a blowout victory courtesy of a 50-33 second half.
All of the Nuggets' three consecutive wins, since being down 3-1, came after turning around a double-digit deficit. In Game 6, they trailed by as many as 19 but went on to win 111-98 and in Game 5, they were down by as many as 16 but still won 111-105.
This fight exhibited by the Nuggets made them the first team since play-by-by began (1997) with three 15-point comebacks facing elimination in a postseason.
These comebacks, combined with their three consecutive wins against the Jazz in the first round, had them sitting at a 6-0 record when facing elimination in the 2020 postseason (up until the Conference Finals). That made them the second team to win six elimination games in a single playoffs, equalling the record they set in 1994 playoffs.
On the other side, the Clippers joined the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns as the only three franchises to have blown a 3-1 playoff series lead having previously lost in the 2015 playoffs despite being 3-1 up. Although the franchise finally broke their Conference Finals drought in the 2021 playoffs, this loss extended their Conference Semifinals record to 0-8.
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