Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is never short of courtside enthusiasm while watching his LA Clippers compete, as we documented on an episode of our Numbers Geek podcast this weekend. But on Monday night, he took it to another level, as he witnessed a bit of NBA history as his team overcame the largest deficit ever in the playoffs with a 135-131 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
The Clippers trailed by 31 points before mounting a comeback to stun the defending NBA champs at home in game two of the opening round series. Ballmer has owned the team since 2014 and they failed to even make the playoffs last year. It wasn’t looking like they’d be around long this year after a 121-104 loss on Saturday.
But the founder of USAFacts has got to be geeking out over the stats this morning:
The Clippers’ comeback win was UNBELIEVABLE
Down 31 points with 7:31 left in the 3rd
0.01% win probability in the 3rd
72-37 run to close out the game
Largest comeback in NBA playoff history pic.twitter.com/LLbjYlmHOV— ESPN (@espn) April 16, 2019
Wow @LAClippers. pic.twitter.com/fd8VDxhr4g
— toddbishop (@toddbishop) April 16, 2019
Ballmer didn’t bother trying to contain himself at Oracle Arena in Oakland as the upset took shape in the final minutes. And Twitter didn’t fail to notice, with plenty of fans likening his enthusiastic reaction to some of his memorable Microsoft moments.
You can add your own “AAAAAAAOOOOOHHHH!!” grunting soundtrack to any of the GIFs below:
THE CLIPPERS COME BACK TO STUN THE WARRIORS IN GAME 2 pic.twitter.com/iThAGePdh6
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 16, 2019
We are all Steve Ballmer todaypic.twitter.com/hwtCVDpdwj
— Emiliano Carchia (@Carchia) April 16, 2019
Nobody has ever had a better time at a basketball game than Steve Ballmer watching Shamet nail that three
— Patrick Wyman (@Patrick_Wyman) April 16, 2019
Steve Ballmer announcing Windows 11 pic.twitter.com/1eNRkFXZ5T
— Kevin Beaumont 🧝♀️ (@GossiTheDog) April 16, 2019
I haven't seen Steve Ballmer this happy since his Developers Developers Developers days. #warriorsvsclippers
— Jason Shellen (@shellen) April 16, 2019
The Steve Ballmer party is the place to be.
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) April 16, 2019
Inject the Steve Ballmer reaction into my veins.
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) April 16, 2019
Steve Ballmer is the happiest man alive right now pic.twitter.com/o6z9mS24tn
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 16, 2019
If you’re wondering what it’s like to sit next to Ballmer during a game, GeekWire editor Todd Bishop got a chance as part of the Numbers Geek podcast, and you can hear audio highlights in this episode.