Spurs must make NBA history to overcome 0-2 deficit vs. Knicks
The San Antonio knicks-in-nba-finals/">Spurs must dig themselves out of a massive hole if they’re going to win the NBA Finals after losing Game 2 to the New York Knicks on Friday night.
The Spurs entered Game 2 of the NBA Finals in a must-win situation.
It was bad enough San Antonio allowed the Knicks to keep rolling with a Game 1 win, but the Spurs also allowed New York to wrestle away home-court advantage in the series in a game that saw San Antonio also cough up a 14-point lead.
In Game 2, the Knicks just kept on rolling, winning their 13th-straight game in a 105-104 win over the Spurs in San Antonio.
With the Spurs now down 0-2 against the Knicks, we’re taking a look at the history of teams that have overcome such a deficit in the NBA Finals.
Spoiler alert: San Antonio is in big trouble.
History of 0-2 comebacks in NBA Finals
Five teams in NBA history have overcome an 0-2 deficit to win the NBA Finals, but NONE of those teams did so after losing the first two games at home.
That means the San Antonio Spurs must make history in order to win the NBA Finals.
The 1969 Boston Celtics (vs. Los Angeles Lakers) and 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers (vs. Golden State Warriors) overcame their 0-2 deficits and won the NBA Finals in seven games.
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The other three teams, the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers (vs. Philadelphia 76ers), the 2006 Miami Heat (vs. Dallas Mavericks) and 2021 Milwaukee Bucks (vs. Phoenix Suns) won in six games.
Outside of the NBA Finals, five teams in league history have overcome an 0-2 deficit in the playoffs after losing two home games to start a series: the 1969 Lakers, the 1994 Houston Rockets, the 2005 Dallas Mavericks, the 2017 Boston Celtics and the 2021 Los Angeles Clippers.
Spurs must overcome more than just history
As if the Spurs weren’t facing enough of an uphill climb, they have to pull off a historic comeback against a Knicks team playing at a historic level.
There isn’t a shred of momentum in San Antonio’s locker room after it dropped the first two games at home.
Meanwhile, New York’s locker room is filled to the brim with momentum.
Adding to all that, Madison Square Garden is a tough enough place to play at any time of the year, but it’s going to be next-level electric in the Knicks’ home arena with the team just two wins away from its first NBA title in 53 years.
Good luck with all that.
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Mike Moraitis
Mike Moraitis is a freelance writer who covers the NFL and NBA for The Big Lead. Over his nearly two decades covering sports, Mike has also worked for Bleacher Report, USA TODAY, The Sporting News and FanSided.
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