The Los Angeles Clippers trailed the Brooklyn Nets by three points after one quarter, 12 points after two quarters and 15 points after three quarters.
The fourth quarter, however, belonged to the Clippers.
The Clippers throttled the Nets in the final period, outscoring them 41-15 and tallied the game's final 22 points to pull out a stunning 125-114 win on Sunday.
Down by 18 points with just under 11 minutes to play, Los Angeles (27-14) closed the game on a 39-10 run en route to its 10th victory in the last 12 games.
Kawhi Leonard led the epic comeback, scoring 14 of his 21 points during the Clippers' 22-0 run over the game's final 5:17.
The Clippers shot 44.7 percent through the first three quarters before making 12-of-16 shots (75.0 per cent) in the final period.
James Harden led Los Angeles with 24 points and 10 assists, while Russell Westbrook added 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists off the bench.
The Nets (17-25) started the game hot, jumping out to 16-0 lead over the first 4 1/2 minutes.
But as hot as they started, they were unable to make a basket down the stretch with a 114-103 lead, missing their final nine shots to lose for the 10th time in 12 games.
Mikal Bridges led Brooklyn with 26 points but scored just six after half-time.
Durant has 40 as Suns hang on to beat Pacers for fifth straight win
Kevin Durant poured in 40 points to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 117-110 win over the Indiana Pacers for their fifth straight victory.
In his third 40-point game of the season, Durant did most of his damage on mid-range jumpers and became the first player in franchise history to score at least 40 points without attempting a free throw.
The 13-time All-Star made 18-of-25 shots - including 4-of-7 from 3-point range - and grabbed nine rebounds to go with a season high-tying three blocks.
The Suns' starting backcourt combined for 51 points, with Devin Booker scoring 26 and Bradley Bead adding 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting.
Phoenix (24-18) led by as much as 14 points, but Indiana used an 11-0 run to pull ahead 105-103 on Buddy Hield's 3-pointer with 3:20 left.
Durant then responded with a 3-pointer of his own on the Suns' next possession, as Phoenix closed the game on a 14-5 run.
Hield led the Pacers with 18 points, and Pascal Siakam had 15 points and seven assists in his second game with Indiana after being acquired from Toronto.
The Pacers (24-19), who were once playing without All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton due to a strained left hamstring, lost for the fourth time in five games following a 9-1 stretch.
Jokic scores season-high 42 as Nuggets beat Wizards
Nikola Jokic had his highest scoring game of the season, scoring 42 points while adding 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 113-104 win over the Washington Wizards.
The two-time NBA MVP was red-hot shooting, going 15-of-20 from the field and making 12-of-14 free throws.
All five Denver starters scored in double figures with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. each scoring 19, Aaron Gordon adding 11 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope chipping in 10.
The Nuggets (30-14) led by as much as 17 in winning for the fourth time in five games.
The Wizards (7-35), meanwhile, lost their fourth in a row and for the 10th time in 11 games.
Kyle Kuzma paced Washington with 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Tyus Jones had 15 points and 13 assists.
Daniel Gafford had 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds in his return after missing the last two games with a head injury.
Kerr demands improvements from Team USA as Olympic opener looms
United States coach Steve Kerr wants to see higher levels of intensity from his team as their Olympics campaign approaches.
Kerr was unhappy with the lacklustre displays from his side in their warm-ups against Germany and South Sudan.
Germany led 71-68 at the end of the third quarter before LeBron James conjured up 11 points in the final four minutes to give the USA a 92-88 win, while South Sudan were 20 seconds away from pulling off one of the biggest shocks in basketball history, before eventually falling to a 101-100 loss.
The USA face a dangerous Serbia side featuring reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic on Sunday, and Kerr is adamant that improvements are required if they are to win a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
He said: "It's got to be 40 minutes of force and attention and focus, and we can't let teams outplay us effort and energy-wise like we did the other night against Germany, like we did against South Sudan.
“We have another level. I think we have another two levels that we can get to, but it's a collaboration, always.
"We can show them, 'Let's do this, let's do that. Let's learn personnel.'
"We got to know the shooters, know the non-shooters, all that stuff. So that's where we can help them. Where they can help themselves is just effort and energy play after play, after play. This is different."
Kerr is a four-time NBA champion as a coach, and was part of the triumphant Olympics team in Tokyo in 2021, but the Golden State Warriors boss knows the experience of the Games will only be enhanced if the USA were to come out on top again.
"This should be one of the great experiences of our lives. But the best way to make it an incredible experience is to win a gold medal," he said.
After facing Serbia, the USA will once again go up against South Sudan, this time in a competitive format, before ending the group stage with a match against Puerto Rico.
Durant warns Team USA 'everybody is a contender' in Olympic basketball tournament
Kevin Durant has warned Team USA they will not have an easy ride through the basketball tournament at the Paris Olympic Games, declaring: "Everybody is a contender".
The United States will go in search of a fifth straight men's basketball gold in the French capital, where they open their Group C campaign against Serbia on Sunday.
After that meeting with Nikola Jokic and company, the star-studded USA team featuring Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and a host of other NBA stars take on South Sudan and Puerto Rico.
With Steve Kerr having so much talent at his disposal, the roster has been compared to that of the 1992 'Dream Team', who took gold in Barcelona behind the efforts of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen and other great names.
However, at a press conference ahead of Team USA's 2024 opener, Curry reminded reporters that the class of 1992 only faced nine other active NBA players.
Durant is expecting a much tougher assignment this year, responding to Curry by saying: "Everybody is a contender. Everyone is here for a reason.
"We're playing against 65 or 64 NBA players in Paris. So you know they're the best in the world."
Asked to identify the main players to watch from other nations, the Phoenix Suns forward said: "Giannis [Antetokounmpo] or Jokic."
While Durant adopted a cautious tone, Golden State Warriors star Curry was more bullish regarding the USA's gold medal hopes.
Quizzed on who he was most excited about facing, Curry simply said: "Whoever's in the gold medal game."
Knicks, head coach Thibodeau agree to three-year contract extension
The New York Knicks and head coach Tom Thibodeau have agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season.
New York went 50-32 last season to earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference before losing to the Indiana Pacers in the semi-finals of the play-offs.
The Knicks were also ousted in the East semis in 2022-23 and reached the play-offs during Thibodeau’s first season in 2021-22, when he won his second NBA Coach of the Year award.
Prior to 2021-22, New York’s previous post-season appearance came in 2013.
The Knicks have gone 175-143 over the last four seasons under Thibodeau, who earned his first NBA Coach of the Year award in 2011 as a rookie head coach with the Chicago Bulls.
The 66-year-old Thibodeau owns a 527-389 record in 12 seasons as a head coach with Chicago, the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York.
His teams have gone 38-47 in the post-season, and Thibodeau’s only appearance in the conference finals came in his rookie head coach season.
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