The Finals is a matchup between two of the NBA's best teams, but that doesn't mean that every game is competitive.
In fact, the Finals has seen a fair number of blowouts in the league's storied 75-year history.
The record for the largest margin of victory in a Finals game was set 24 years ago by Michael Jordan's Bulls, but a couple of teams have come close to breaking it in the two decades since.
With that in mind, here are the most lopsided games ever played in the Finals.
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Largest margin of victory in an NBA Finals game
In Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals, the Bulls defeated the Jazz by 42 points, setting the record for the largest margin of victory in a Finals game. The Jazz finished with just 54 points on 30.0 percent shooting from the field, 11.1 percent from 3-point range and 78.6 percent from the free-throw line.
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It's one of 17 times that a game has been decided by 30 or more points in Finals history. The most recent came in 2016 when the Cavaliers beat the Warriors by 30 points in Game 3. The Warriors beat the Cavaliers by 33 points in Game 2 of the same series.
The Lakers have been on the receiving end of six 30-point blowouts in the Finals.
Rank | Team | Opponent | Differential | Year |
1 | Bulls | Jazz | 42 | 1998 |
2 | Celtics | Lakers | 39 | 2008 |
3 | Spurs | Heat | 36 | 2013 |
4 | Bullets | SuperSonics | 35 | 1978 |
5 | Celtics | Hawks | 34 | 1961 |
Celtics | Lakers | 34 | 1985 | |
7 | Celtics | Lakers | 33 | 1965 |
76ers | Lakers | 33 | 1982 | |
Lakers | Celtics | 33 | 1984 | |
Bulls | Trail Blazers | 33 | 1992 | |
Pacers | Lakers | 33 | 2000 | |
Warriors | Cavaliers | 33 | 2016 | |
13 | Celtics | Lakers | 32 | 1965 |
Trail Blazers | 76ers | 32 | 1977 | |
15 | 76ers | Warriors | 31 | 1967 |
Pistons | Spurs | 31 | 2005 | |
17 | Cavaliers | Warriors | 30 | 2016 |
For comparison, the largest margin of victory in a playoff game is 58 points. In the regular season? 73 points, set during the 2021-22 season by the Grizzlies.