(EDITOR’S NOTE

: This is the second in a series of articles by Times News writer Rich Strack. After writing about his “Greatest Games” in sports history in the opening series, he will now offer his thoughts on the “Greatest Comebacks.” Throughout the upcoming weeks, Strack will give his list of the top comebacks in different sports. Today’s topic is college football.)

By RICH STRACK

TNSPORTS@tnonline.com

In this difficult time of a health crisis, the matter of sports competition that brings so much recreational joy to millions of Americans has been rightfully postponed.

Every level from the professional and college ranks down to high school spring sports will have empty stadiums, ball fields, and tracks for the foreseeable future.

But if you’re a fan like me, with many years of devotion to athletic competition, some of the greatest events from the past are still being played in your memory rewind.

So sit back and let me distract you from public concerns for just a moment with Part 5 of a series on the “Greatest Comebacks” that will remain forever in my personal Hall of Fame.

Today I give you three of the best NBA come-from-behind games and series of my lifetime.

November 27, 1996

Denver Nuggets vs Utah Jazz

The greatest comeback in NBA history was by the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz were riding a seven-game winning streak entering the game, but with Denver leading 72-36 in the third period and the home crowd booing, the streak seemed like it would come to an end.

The Jazz trimmed a few points off the lead before a 16-0 run pulled them to within 74-57 and gave them hope. At the end of three quarters, the Jazz now trailed by 13 points at 85-72.

A lid on the Nuggets’ basket and 19-6 Jazz run, capped by a three-pointer by Chris Morris, tied the game at 91 with 4:38 remaining. With 3:02 left, Jeff Hornacek’s two free throws put Utah ahead 95-94. At that point, the Jazz had outscored the Nuggets 59-22 in the second half.

Denver did manage to retake the lead at 101-100, but Hornacek hit a three and the Jazz never looked back.

Jeff McInnis drove for a Denver layup basket with six seconds remaining, but John Stockton put the game out of reach with two free throws. Denver’s Brooks Thompson and LaPhonso Ellis both missed on three-point attempts as time ran out, giving the Jazz a 107-103 victory - meaning they had overcome an incredible 36-point deficit to win their eighth game in a row.

1981 Eastern Conference Final

76ers vs Celtics

Philadelphia took a commanding 3-1 series lead with a 107-105 win in Game 4 of the 1981 Eastern Conference Final.

In Game 5, the 76ers led by six points with 1:51 left to play and appeared on their way to closing out the series.

But the Celtics roared back as Tiny Archibald hit a three and Larry Bird added a layup to cut the Sixers’ lead to 109-108 with 47 seconds left. Late in the game, M.L. Carr grabbed the offensive rebound on a missed Boston shot, got fouled and calmly hit both free throws, helping Boston notch a 111-109 win.

Philly built a 13-point lead in the first quarter at home in Game 6, but Boston slowly fought back and eventually pulled out a 100-98 win.

Back in Beantown for Game 7, the Sixers again grabbed an early lead and nursed a four-point edge into the fourth quarter. They built that lead to seven with 4:34 left, but the Celtics wiped that out over the next 90 seconds.

Bird banked in a midrange jumper to give the Celtics a 91-89 lead with 1:03 left. That would prove to be the series winner, as Boston completed the comeback with a 91-90 victory. It then went on to defeat the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals.

2016 Final

Cavaliers vs Warriors

The Warriors had set an NBA regular-season record with 73 wins, and definitely looked the part as they jumped out to a 3-1 series lead.

Even more concerning for the Cavs is that none of the three prior games were close as the Warriors victories had come by a combined total of 59 points.

The matchup featured arguably the league’s best players in Cleveland’s LeBron James and Golden State’s Stephen Curry.

The Cavs won Game 5 and Game 6 on LeBron’s back as he seemed to will his team away from elimination. But could he do it in the winner-take-all final game?

Game 7 - on the Warriors home court - had 11 ties and 20 lead changes.

The Warriors led late in the fourth quarter, but failed to score a basket during the last 4:39 of the game as James once again put his team on his back. James also delivered what became known as “The Block” on a layup attempt by the Warriors Andre Iguodala with the score tied at 89-89 and 1:50 remaining in the game.

Kyrie Irving then made a go-ahead three-point field goal to give Cleveland a 92-89 lead with 0:53 remaining. Golden State brought the ball upcourt, opting not to call a timeout. The warriors got the ball to Curry, but the Cavs’ Kevin Love forced Curry into a contested three-pointer which he missed.

The Cavaliers got the rebound and James clinched the title for the Cavaliers by making one of two free throws, putting them four points ahead with only 10.6 seconds left.

Cleveland won its first-ever title, and was the first NBA team in history to come back from a 3-1 series deficit in the Finals. In addition, the Cavs were the first NBA team to win a Game 7 on the road in 38 years.

Final Thoughts

The word, “run” is obviously significant to the game of baseball, but a run in basketball often determines who wins the game as well.

The Jazz beat the Nuggets with second-half runs of 16-0 and 19-5, enabling them to overcome a 36-point deficit.

The Celtics 7-0 run tied the Sixers in the fourth period of Game 7 before winning the game and the title.

Cleveland’s incredible comeback against Golden State was marked by a late-game 14-2 run in Game 7 that put it in position to win the series.

Sports psychologists believe that scoring runs that generate amazing comebacks are not just about the players’ trust of their capabilities. “Self-effacy” is a clinical term they use for a team that has an emotional spark that ignites a firepower of unstoppable momentum. The team on the run merges two key components to overwhelm their opponent. A “can’t miss a shot” confidence, along with the application of a clear idea of a tactical strategy, shifts the mojo from the winning team to the losing team during key times in decisive games.

Double-digit runs that reverse an expected outcome also occur because the rallying team has done it before, a hard-wired experience of teams who know what it takes to turn the tide.

On the other side of the coin, the team losing the lead seemingly can’t shift back the momentum. They continue to miss shots here and turn the ball over there.

A scoring run, fueled by a growing confidence on one side, can demoralize the other side so much that they can’t help but feel defeat long before the final horn sounds.