We're not necessarily talking about clutch factions that bring it in the last five minutes of a tightly contested game, either.
With the game on the line, coaches and fans want their teams to excel and ultimately prevail. Even more so, they want them to play at a high level for 12 minutes to close out the game, not just the last five.
One would assume that with so much often riding on those final 12 minutes of action, most franchises would be at their best. Believe it or not, per NBA.com (subscription required) 17 of the Association's 30 teams are being outscored in the final quarter by their opponents.
Five of those teams—the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks—are surefire playoff teams.
There are, however, a handful of outfits who go against the grain and reject this startlingly disturbing trend of failing when it matters most.
*Fourth-quarter stats used in this article were compiled from Basketball-Reference, NBA.com and teamrankings.com unless otherwise noted.
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