The Cleveland Cavaliers stole a win away from the league-best Boston Celtics at home following a 22-point comeback in the fourth quarter, snapping the Celtics' 11-game win streak.
Since the All-Star break, the Cavaliers have been in a rut, falling to the third seed in the Eastern Conference after losing to the New York Knicks in Cleveland on Sunday, March 3. For the majority of their game with Boston, it seemed the Cavs were about to repeat their lifeless and uninspired performance from the last contest. In a surprise twist of fate, Cleveland surged past the Celtics to claim a 105-104 last-minute victory.
The Celtics had played tremendous defense the entire game; nothing came easy for the Cavs. In the final period, though, Cleveland got a burst of energy from Dean Wade, and the Celtics never adjusted their gameplan to stick to him on the perimeter. Wade had a perfect fourth quarter, hitting five-of-five from deep and seven-of-seven from the field. He also scored the final basket for the Cavaliers, a putback dunk over two Boston defenders. Wade alone outscored the Celtics 20-17 in the final 12 minutes of regulation.
It was not only the largest comeback in the fourth quarter the Cavs have ever had, but it was also the second iconic comeback fueled by a perfect fourth quarter since the break. Any fan of the Cavaliers knows the city's history with comeback wins. The 3-1 comeback against the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 Finals will eternally hang in the rafters for the Cavs, but they also have a long list of single-game comebacks alongside their first title.
In honor of Dean Wade's stupendous work and Cleveland's comeback win, these are the 14 largest single-game comebacks in Cavaliers history.
14-10: Cavaliers overcome 20-point deficits
One of Cleveland's largest comebacks came earlier this very season against the Dallas Mavericks. On the road, the Cavs overthrew Luka Doncic and the Mavs without Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. In one of his many breakout games this year, rookie Craig Porter, Jr. guided the Cavaliers to the win with nine points, seven assists, 12 rebounds (career high) and three steals.
The earliest 20-point comeback for Cleveland came on April 11, 1998 when they hosted the Philadelphia 76ers. The Cavaliers gave the Mavericks their 20-point lead early in the game but mounted a spirited comeback behind Wesley Person's 7-of-10 three-point shooting and Zydrunas Ilgauskas' 16-point, 15-rebound double-double.
The Cavaliers came back by 20 against the Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers in 2008, 2013 and 2022, respectively. In all but one of these five games, the Cavs fell behind by halftime.
9-7: Cleveland mounts a 21-point comeback
In their three 21-point comebacks, two came within the last two seasons. On February 11, 2022, the Cavaliers surged past the Indiana Pacers, lifted to the win by 22 points from Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen. Allen also recorded 14 rebounds and one block. In his lone season with the Cavaliers, Rajon Rondo led the Cavaliers' in scoring during their fourth-quarter surge with 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting. The Cavs won the final period 32-17 en route to the win.
Last season, the Cavaliers not only came back from a 21-point hole against the Chicago Bulls, but Donovan Mitchell made history in the overtime victory by breaking the all-time franchise scoring record with 71 points in 50 minutes of action. Mitchell carried Cleveland into overtime after intentionally missing a free throw, grabbing a rebound and laying it back in as time expired to tie the game 130-130. In overtime, Mitchell scored 13 of Cleveland's 15 points. This single-game performance defined Mitchell as a bonafide superstar in Cleveland basketball.
Thirteen years prior and exactly 14 years before Wade's heroic comeback, LeBron James notched 40 points, 13 rebounds and six assists to bring the Cavaliers back against the Detroit Pistons on March 5, 2010. The Pistons ended that season 27-55 while the Cavs reached the Eastern Conference Finals in what would be LeBron's last season with Cleveland before joining the Miami Heat that summer.
6-5: 22-point comeback
The Cavaliers have only found their way to a win after falling 22 points in the hole one other time before their latest win. Cleveland returned the favor against the Miami Heat on February 24, 2020. Kevin Porter, Jr. scored 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds off the bench alongside Kevin Love's emphatic 17-point, 14-rebound double-double.
Coincidentally, both 22-point comebacks were sparked by a fourth-quarter spectacle off the bench. While Porter was not perfect from the field, he scored 11 points in the fourth to bring the game into overtime where he added four more points to his total. Larry Nance, Jr. gave Cleveland eight points in the fourth quarter, adding to the overall bench production.
4: 23-point comeback
With one 23-point comeback in history, LeBron James once again willed Cleveland to the win in a tight 104-101 finish in Madison Square Garden against the Knicks. James finished the game with 23 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. Renowned sharpshooter Kyle Korver closely followed James' scoring, adding 21 points with five triples on the night.
James also denied three shots from the Knicks, giving the Cavs extra possessions in their push to win. In the fourth quarter, James scored seven points and dished out eight assists. Korver scored 19 of his 21 points in this quarter. Once again, it was a bench player's sudden flamethrower shooting that resurrected a nearly-dead Cavs team to turn a blowout into a memorable win.
3-2: Cavaliers surge back from 25-point pit
Tied for the second-best comeback in team history, Cleveland overcame the New Orleans Hornets (now New Orleans Pelicans). Carlos Boozer led the Cavaliers in scoring, finishing with 24 points and nine rebounds. Fifteen of Boozer's points came in the second half. LeBron James (no surprise) stifled the Hornets' offense with five blocks along with his own 21 points and six assists.
Ilgauskas makes his second appearance on this list, scoring 14 points in the win. The Cavs eventually pulled out a 104-100 win at home, spoiling Baron Davis' 34-point performance. Cleveland pressured Davis all night, forcing him to commit eight turnovers as the Cavs clawed back.
Cleveland's second 25-point comeback came against the Boston Celtics early in the 2006-07 season. In the seventh game of the year, rallied past Paul Pierce and the Celtics by way of a jaw-dropping second half performance by the King of Cleveland basketball. James scored 25 of his 38 points in the second half, hitting 15-of-19 from the free-throw line.
He also never went to the bench for the entirety of the second half. Although the Cavs had a 4-2 record entering the game against the 1-4 Celtics, LeBron treated the game like a do-or-die playoff game.
1: Cleveland takes 3-0 series lead in historic comeback against Indiana Pacers
In what would be the final postseason of Cleveland's big three of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, the historic trio make their only appearance in all-time franchise comebacks. It is also the only one that took place in the playoffs and sits alone with the number one spot at 26 points. If you are going to do something, do it big, it seems.
On April 20, 2017, the Cavaliers' star trio had their eyes on another Finals appearance following their 2016 championship. In game three of the first round, the Indiana Pacers were searching for an answer at home after dropping the first two games in Cleveland. Paul George erupted for 23 points in the first half alone, adding nine rebounds and five assists to his stat sheet, too. The Cavs were facing an all-time performance by one of the youngest superstars in the league at the time.
At halftime, the Cavs were down 74-49, but Indiana had built their 26-point lead a few minutes earlier at 72-46. In the second half, everything changed. James replicated George's first-half dominance, scoring 28 points with six rebounds and seven assists, as well. Kyrie Irving only added three points in the half in just under eight minutes of game time. Kevin Love added five points and four rebounds.
The Cavaliers would go on to win the series with a clean 4-0 sweeping before eventually falling 4-1 to Golden State Warriors after they added Kevin Durant the past offseason.
In total, the Cleveland Cavaliers have never built their identity on shying away from seemingly insurmountable setbacks. This season has been a testament to that relentless culture with the Cavs' numerous heroic comebacks and historic run in December and January without Darius Garland or Evan Mobley.