A history of teams down 3-1 in the NBA Finals

Miami Heat fans, we're afraid we've got some bad news.

No team has ever come back from a 3-1 series deficit to win an NBA Finals. 31 teams have tried, and not a single one has been successful.

It gets more dire than that, actually. The 31 teams who have trailed 3-1 have won a total of just 17 games the rest of the way. 13 teams have forced a Game 6, and just two - Rochester in 1951 and Boston in 1966 - have even managed to force a Game 7.

It gets worse, though, because the Heat are on the road for Game 5. Teams who have enjoyed home-court to climb out of a 3-1 deficit have actually gone 9-7 in Game 5s, but teams trying to extend a series on the road are just 6-9.

Sure, the Heat are an excellent team, but so are most teams that make the NBA Finals. Even if they force a Game 7, fans would be wise to show some decorum; they may be special, but history suggests they're not special enough to come back from this.

Here is a history of all 31 teams who have faced a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals: