The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals on Monday night. The game will effectively be remembered as the Lonnie Walker IV game, as Walker took over in the fourth quarter with 15 points to lead the Lakers to victory.
With the win, Los Angeles now has a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Warriors with a great chance of advancing to the Western Conference Finals. Thus far, this series has played out identically to round one vs Memphis, which the Lakers won in six games.
The job is not finished, though, and the Warriors are a good enough team to win three games in a row (two of which being at home). Statistically, though, it does not happen very often.
How many NBA teams have blown a 3-1 lead?
There have been 13 instances in which an NBA team took a 3-1 lead in a seven-game playoff series and ended up losing said playoff series. In the grand scheme of the NBA that is a minuscule number and is one that should make Lakers fans comfortable.
Have the Lakers ever blown a 3-1 lead in the NBA Playoffs?
Yes, the Lakers have blown a 3-1 lead in the NBA Playoffs before. Back in 2006, Kobe Bryant and the Lake Show took a 3-1 series lead over the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2006 NBA Playoffs.
Like this year against the Warriors, the Suns had home-court advantage and played two of the final three games at home. The three losses weren’t even that close, either, as the Suns won 114-97, 126-118 and 121-90, respectively.
The Lakers have also overcome a 3-1 deficit once in franchise history, also against the Suns. Phoenix took a 3-1 lead in the 1970 Western Conference semifinals and lost the next three in similar fashion. Los Angeles won 138-121, 104-93 and 129-94, respectively.
Here is the full list of teams to overcome a 3-1 deficit in NBA history (the first team being the team that overcame the deficit):
- 1968 – Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers
- 1970 – Los Angeles Lakers vs Phoenix Suns
- 1979 – Washington Bullets vs San Antonio Spurs
- 1981 – Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers
- 1995 – Houston Rockets vs Phoenix Suns
- 1997 – Miami Heat vs New York Knicks
- 2003 – Detroit Pistons vs Orlando Magic
- 2006 – Phoenix Suns vs Los Angeles Lakers
- 2015 – Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Clippers
- 2016 – Golden State Warriors vs Oklahoma City Thunder
- 2016 – Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors
- 2020 – Denver Nuggets vs Utah Jazz
- 2020 – Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Clippers
As you can see, the Warriors have overcome a 3-1 deficit once in franchise history and have blown a 3-1 lead once as well. History is on the Lakers’ side after Monday night but the job ultimately is not finished.