Ranking the 10 best individual NBA playoffs performances facing elimination

11/12/2024 02:00 PM

Facing elimination is one of the toughest parts of NBA playoffs basketball. While players can easily throw in the towel, there’s no question that some of them decide not to go down without a fight. Here are the 10 best individual NBA playoffs performances facing elimination.

10. Tim Duncan (Game 5, 2002 Western Conference Semifinals)

Stats: 34 points, 25 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steals, 2 blocks, 48% FG, 0% 3PFG

Against the Los Angeles Lakers, the San Antonio Spurs needed every bit of help they could get, especially after finding themselves down 3-1. Although the Spurs lost in five games, Duncan was a bright spot who posted a monster 30-20 game. It was certainly a valiant effort for the Big Fundamental against the dynamic duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.

9. Michael Jordan (Game 5, 1989 Eastern Conference First Round)

Stats: 44 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 53% FG, 100% 3PFG

As early as the first round of the 1989 NBA playoffs, both the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers were in for a tough series, extending the best-of-five series to its breaking point.

With the Bulls failing to close out the Cavs in Game 4, Michael Jordan knew he had to bring out his A-game. He dropped a 40-piece while flirting with a triple-double, capped off with an iconic game-winner to lead the Bulls to the second round of the NBA playoffs.

8. Luka Doncic (Game 7, 2021 Western Conference First Round)

Stats: 46 points, 7 rebounds, 14 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 57% FG, 46% 3PFG

The Los Angeles Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks have engaged in a heated rivalry thanks to several encounters in the NBA playoffs. In one of their encounters, their first-round meeting saw the series push to a grueling seven games.

While Luka Doncic exploded for 46, spiked by five threes, his efforts were spoiled by the Clippers, who went on to take Game 7 to advance to the next round of the NBA playoffs.

7. Hakeem Olajuwon (Game 6, 1987 Western Conference Semifinals)

Stats: 49 points, 25 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 6 blocks, 58% FG, 0% 3PFG

The Seattle Supersonics pretty much took control of their semifinal series against the Houston Rockets in 1987. With a chance to tie the series, while facing elimination, Hakeem Olajuwon brought out one of the best games of his life by dropping a monster 40-20 game while blocking six shots.

However, his 40-20 masterpiece went for naught as the Supersonics took care of business by winning 128-125 in Game 6.

6. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving (Game 5, 2016 NBA Finals)

Stats: 41 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 53% FG, 50% 3PFG (LeBron James)

Stats: 41 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 71% FG, 71% 3PFG (Kyrie Irving)

Down 3-1 against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors, the Cavs had their odds stacked against them. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving did everything they could to keep the Cavs afloat by scoring 41 points apiece.

It marked the first time a pair of teammates dropped at least 40 in the same NBA Finals game. The duo would propel the Cavs to do the impossible by coming out of the 3-1 series hole to defeat the Warriors for the title.

5. LeBron James (Game 6, 2018 Eastern Conference Finals)

Stats: 46 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 52% FG, 71% 3PFG

Speaking of LeBron James, even without Irving, The King pretty much carried a juggled Cavs team to the NBA Finals in dominant fashion.

With his Finals streak threatened after the Boston Celtics took a 3-2 series lead, James did a herculean job to extend the series before denying the Celtics a Finals appearance. James flirted with a 40-point triple-double to propel the Cavs back to the Finals for the fourth-consecutive year.

4. Stephen Curry (Game 7, 2023 Western Conference First Round)

Stats: 50 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steals, 0 blocks, 53% FG, 39% 3PFG

The defending champions certainly had their hands full after the Kings extended the series to seven games in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Determined to advance, Stephen Curry shot the lights out by making seven three-pointers to keep the Warriors in the hunt for a second-straight championship. In the do-or-die game, Curry exploded  for a 50-point masterpiece for a hard-earned Warriors playoff win.

3. Jamal Murray (Game 6, 2020 Western Conference First Round)

Stats: 50 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 71% FG, 75% 3PFG

It’s never nice to be down 3-1 in any NBA playoffs series. But after losing three games to the Utah Jazz, the Denver Nuggets had no choice but to fight for their lives to extend the series. However, it was Jamal Murray’s 50-point explosion that pretty much decided the series. The Nuggets then won the next three games to advance all the way to the Western Conference Finals.

2. Jayson Tatum (Game 7, 2023 Eastern Conference Semifinals)

Stats: 51 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 0 blocks, 61% FG, 60% 3PFG

Coming off a Finals appearance, the Celtics were eager to go back to the NBA Finals. However, they faced a huge road block in the form of the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the NBA playoffs.

With the series going up to seven grueling games, Jayson Tatum brought out the kitchen sink to lift the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals. It took a 50-point game from Tatum for the Celtics to emerge victorious.

1. Wilt Chamberlain (Game 5, 1962 Eastern Division Semifinals)

Stats: 56 points, 35 rebounds, 1 assist, 46% FG

The most points ever scored by a player while facing elimination in the NBA playoffs was 56 points, which was a record set by Wilt Chamberlain. Aside from scoring 56, Chamberlain also had an astounding 35 rebounds in Game 5 of a best-of-five series. Thanks to Chamberlain’s monster game, the Philadelphia Warriors managed to advance at the expense of the Syracuse Nationals.

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