NBA Playoff, Largest Margins of Victory
Which were the matches with the largest gap recorded? Here you are the list!
What is a blowout? In NBA and in sport in general, a blowout occurs when a team overcomes the opponent by a wide margin, forcing the opponents to give up early the chance to close the gap.
Let’s find out together which are the matches with the largest margins.
NBA Playoff Biggest Blowouts
Throughout the history of the NBA Playoffs, two were the most overwhelming victory, both ended up with a 58 points margin between the two franchises: the first one was Minneapolis Lakers v. St. Louis Hawks, ended 133-75 for Minneapolis.
The second one occurred in 2009: it was the first round of the Western Conference, the New Orleans Hornets confront the Denver Nuggets, who won 121 to 63.
The Nuggets also won Game-5 and got the pass for the Conference Semifinals; thanks to Carmelo Anthony‘s excellent performance, they defeated the Dallas Mavericks, but they could do nothing against Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers, eventual NBA champions.
The most recent game in this special list is 2020 match between Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks, which ended 154 to 111 for the “City of Angels” franchise.
NBA Playoff Biggest Blowouts List
| # | Game | Gap | Score | Date |
| 1 | New Orleans Hornets – Denver Nuggets | 58 | 63-121 | 27 April 2009 |
| Minneapolis Lakers – St. Louis Hawks | 58 | 133-75 | 19 March 1956 | |
| 3 | Golden State Warriors – Los Angeles Lakers | 56 | 70-126 | 21 April 1973 |
| 4 | Milwaukee Bucks – Chicago Bulls | 54 | 66-120 | 30 April 2015 |
| 5 | Milwaukee Bucks – San Francisco Warriors | 50 | 136-86 | 4 April 1972 |
| 6 | Orlando Magic – Boston Celtics | 47 | 124-77 | 28 April 1995 |
| Los Angeles Lakers – San Antonio Spurs | 47 | 135-88 | 17 April 1986 | |
| 8 | Boston Celtics – Cleveland Cavaliers | 44 | 86-130 | 19 May 2017 |
| Seattle Supersonics – Phoenix Suns | 44 | 122-78 | 27 April 1997 | |
| Los Angeles Lakers – Denver Nuggets | 44 | 153-109 | 22 May 1985 | |
| Detroit Pistons – St- Louis Hawks | 44 | 101-145 | 25 March 1958 | |
| 12 | Los Angeles Clippers – Dallas Mavericks | 43 | 154-111 | 25 August 2020 |
| Orlando Magic – Atlanta Hawks | 43 | 114-71 | 4 May 2010 | |
| Detroit Pistons – Washington Bullets | 43 | 128-85 | 26 April 1987 | |
| Los Angeles Lakers – Dallas Mavericks | 43 | 134-91 | 28 April 1984 | |
| 16 | Chicago Bulls – Utah Jazz | 42 | 86-54 | 7 June 1998 |
| 17 | Golden State Warriors – Houston Rockets | 41 | 126-85 | 20 May 2018 |
| Chicago Bulls – New York Knicks | 41 | 126-85 | 25 April 1991 | |
| 19 | Los Angeles Clippers – Golden State Warriors | 40 | 138-98 | 21 April 2014 |
| Los Angeles Lakers – Houston Rockets | 40 | 118-78 | 12 May 2009 | |
| Dallas Mavericks – Houston Rockets | 40 | 116-76 | 12 May 2009 | |
| San Antonio Spurs – Denver NUggets | 40 | 145-105 | 4 May 1983 | |
| Boston Celtics – Philadelphia 76ers | 40 | 121-81 | 9 May 1982 | |
| Philadelphia 76ers – New York Knicks | 40 | 130-90 | 16 April 1978 | |
| San Francisco Warriors | 40 | 78-118 | 5 April 1960 |