Since its inception, NBA has entertained massive crowds with nail-biting games that go down to the wire. Players thrill the audience by playing their hearts out for their respective teams, and on most occasions, the desire to win games remains neck-and-neck, especially if the competition is in a do-or-die situation. Even though teams give it their all starting from day one in the regular season, they go through a must-win situation in the postseason.
However, several NBA teams have failed to battle, giving their opponents long-margin wins in the highly anticipated playoff games, resulting in less fan interest in NBA live scores. Before we revisit the past and relive the top five largest NBA postseason wins, let’s explore the biggest margins of defeat.
How big are the margins of defeat?
While thirty teams play in the NBA, not all squads can destroy their opponents in a highly pressurized situation. Among the top five, four of the teams made history by embarrassing their opponents with mammoth victory margins of fifty points or more. The fifth team is also not behind, with a winning margin of 47 points!
With that being said, here are the top five games which ended up having the most extensive margins in the NBA postseason history-
#5. Orlando Magic vs Boston Celtics, 1995
Beginning from the bottom, we have the Orlando Magic, who thrashed the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference First Round game of 1995. Though the Magic scored quite a doable 124 points, it was enough for them to make history, as the Celtics only managed to score 77 points and lost the game by an unbelievable 47-point margin.
The stars of the show in that particular match were Shaquille O’Neal and Nick Anderson. The Big Shamrock helped the Magic cruise to victory, scoring 23 crucial points, and was assisted by Anderson, who scored 20 points with his incredible ability to score three-pointers. The shooting guard successfully made three three-pointers from his six attempts.
On the other hand, the Celtics seemed lost, with players like Dennis Scott, Jeff Turner, and Anthony Bowie failing to perform in the crucial April 28th game, which was the first of the four-game series against the Magic team. Later, Orlando won the NBA Eastern Conference First Round, leading the series 3-1.
#4. Milwaukee Bucks vs. San Francisco Warriors, 1971
The Bucks team in the 2023 season is going through a fifteen-game winning streak, which is quite an astonishing achievement. However, the Milwaukee team, throughout history, has placed itself in the record books.
On April 4th, 1971, fifty-two years ago, the Bucks took on the Warriors in a much-anticipated Western Conference Semifinals game. Although the game promised to be a belter, the Milwaukee team outplayed the Warriors with a player who became one of the league’s biggest legends. He is none other than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and while playing against San Francisco, he scored 23 points and came out second to Jon McGlocklin, who scored 28 points.
The Warriors seemed helpless in the game as the Bucks continued to dominate them, scoring more than thirty points in each quarter, and they ended the game with a score of 136-86—a ginormous fifty-point margin!
#3. Chicago Bulls vs Milwaukee Bucks, 2015
The Eastern Conference First Round game between the Bulls and the Bucks was a one-sided event that the fans will never forget. On April 30th, the Bulls dominated the Bucks from the get-go, and with a total team effort, the Milwaukee side never got the opportunity to make a comeback in the game.
All players, including Mike Dunleavy Jr., Pau Gasol, Jimmy Butler, and Joakim Noah, played their parts in winning the mind-boggling 54-point margin of victory. As the final quarter ended, the scoreboard showed 120–66.
#2. Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors, 1973
The 1973 Western Conference Finals occurred between the Lakers and the Golden State Warriors on April 21st. While both teams had evenly balanced lineups, the Lakers dominated the Warriors in the series, winning it 3-0.
However, in that particular game, the Lakers crushed the Warriors by an enormous 56-point margin. With half the game done and dusted, the Warriors did have a chance to make a comeback, but the Lakers kept on pushing in the last two quarters as they scored 36 and 37 points compared to the mediocre 16 and 20 points of the Golden State team.
Inevitably, the game ended with the Lakers emerging as the victors of the encounter with 126-70 on the board.
#1. Denver Nuggets vs New Orleans Hornets, 2009
In 2009, the Nuggets team played out of their skin and repeated history, matching the Minneapolis Lakers record of a fifty-eight-point postseason margin that dated back to 1956. While the 1956 game was a stunner, the April 27th game in 2009 between the Nuggets and the Hornets in the Western Conference First Round five-match series entertained the crowd with insanely high voltage games.
The Nuggets came in as favorites to win the series after leading it 2-1. Although the Denver team scored over a hundred points in the first two games that they won, the fourth match was about to skyrocket them to the number one slot amongst the largest NBA postseason wins.
In the fourth match, the Nuggets went on with a flying start as the Denver team scored 36 points compared to the Hornets’ 15, thanks to the efforts of Carmelo Anthony. The small forward in the game scored twenty-six points, and with the help of the rest of the team, the Nuggets won the game 121-63 and ensured the largest NBA postseason win!
These were the top five postseason wins with the most significant margins; which one is your favorite and why? You can share your thoughts in the comments.
