The rare 2-0 comebacks that can give Knicks hope before Game 3
INDIANAPOLIS — The Knicks are facing a daunting obstacle, to be sure, but not an insurmountable one.Tom Thibodeau’s team posted two straight wins in Boston to start the previous round of the playoffs, but they find themselves on the other side of that problem after dropping the first two at the Garden against the pace-happy Pacers.The Celtics were unable to become the sixth team in NBA history to win a seven-game series under that scenario, but the Knicks now must accomplish that feat and win four of the next five — beginning with Game 3 on Sunday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse — if they are to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.Overall, 34 teams in league annals have overcome any 0-2 deficit to win a playoff series.It’s never been done in a conference final, but here is a look at the only five times a team has lost the first two games on their home court before rebounding to win a best-of-seven series.(Note: The Suns also overcame an 0-2 hole in a five-game set against the Lakers in 1993).Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain rallied their team to take four straight games in the first-round Western Conference semifinals, including three in San Francisco, after losing the first two in L.A., including a 40-point blowout on the road in Game 6.Sports+ subscribers: Sign up for Inside the Knicks to get daily newsletter coverage and join Expert Take for insider texts about the series.The Lakers fell short in the NBA Finals again that year to Bill Russell and the Celtics — for the sixth time in eight seasons — although West became the only player in league history to win Finals MVP on the losing team.One year after Charles Barkley and the Suns had pulled off a five-game series comeback against the Lakers after losing the first two in Phoenix, they dropped four of the final five to Hakeem Olajuwon and the eventual champion Rockets in the second round after opening the series with two wins in Houston.
With Michael Jordan giving baseball a try, the Ro...