Will the Los Angeles Lakers ever win again against the Denver Nuggets?
Lebron James and company mightily tried to prevent another loss against the defending champs on Thursday in their first round NBA playoffs matchup but to no avail.
The Lakers will now try to complete a very daunting task of coming back from a 0-3 hole.
The result stretched their losing streak to the Nikola Jokic-led team to 11 dating back to the 2022-23 NBA season.
LA's Big three put up their best shot with James recording 26-6-9, Anthony Davis putting up 33 and 15, and Austin Reaves contributing 22-5-3-4.
Still, the effort was not enough to surpass the defending champs whose four of the starting five scored at least 20 points.
There is no available data yet but it looks like the Lakers will become the first team to be swept by the same team in two consecutive seasons.
James and Davis were both dejected after the game.
"As long as you still have life, then you always have belief. You play until the wheels fall off. That's what it's always about for me as a mindset," James told reporters during the post-game conference.
It is great to continue believing. It ain't over until the fat lady sings, as they say.
It is easy to conceive that a comeback from 0-3 down is not impossible.
However, the question is, has it been done before?
NBA history says the chances of a team coming back from a 0-3 lead in a seven-game series is ZERO.
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NBA Teams who Almost Came Back from 0-3 hole
There are three teams who almost did the impossible in the NBA.
The first team that climbed from a deep series deficit was the New York Knicks against the Rochester Royals in the 1951 NBA Finals.
The latter won the first three series and the Knicks won the next three. Game 7 was decided by just four points in favor of the Royals.
The third seed Dallas Mavericks prevented a monumental upset in 2003 when they prevented a steal of the series by the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 7 of their first round showdown.
The latest to "almost do it" was last year's no. 2 seed Boston Celtics.
The Miami Heat completed their incredible and improbable run as a play-in team when they fended off what could have been a historic comeback by the Celtics by dominating them in Game 7 to reach the NBA finals.
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Successful Comebacks from a 0-3 Series Hole in Other Basketball Leagues
There is only one instance when a team was able to do the impossible in basketball.
In the Philippines' PBA, its top-flight basketball league, the San Miguel Beermen were able to win the next four games against the Alaska Aces in their 2015-16 PBA Philippine Cup finals.
It was also the first time it had ever happened in the league.
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Completed 0-3 Comebacks in Other Sports
Stealing the series from the jaws of the defeat happens a lot of times in hockey and baseball.
The Mexican Baseball League 's Rojos del Águila de Veracruz did it against Pericos de Puebla last year.
Saskatoon Blades did the same thing against the Red Deer Rebels in the 2023 WHL Eastern Conference Semifinals.
In top flight leagues, MLB's Boston Red Sox mounted a 4-game comeback against the New York Yankees during the 2004 American League Championship Series.
It happened four times in the National Hockey League.
The last one to do it was the Lakers' neighbors Los Angeles Kings against the San Jose Sharks at the 2014 Western Conference First Round.
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