For the Dallas Mavericks, Game 3 of the NBA Finals is pretty much a Game 7.
Having lost the first two games of the series to the Boston Celtics, the Mavs return to Dallas in a 2-0 hole. No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series, losing all 156 times, with nine of those sweeps coming in the Finals.
Only five teams have come back to win the championship after losing the first two games of the Finals.
A member of the Mavericks was on one of those teams: Kyrie Irving.
Irving teamed with LeBron James to lead the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers to their first NBA championship after the team dropped the first two games of the Finals to the Golden State Warriors. Irving hit a go-ahead three in the closing minute to help the Cavs stun the 73-win Warriors.
“Being in the Finals before, down 0-2, I have a little experience in this,” Irving told reporters. “Didn’t play particularly well in the first two games in that series, too, that I’m referring to.
“So now, I’m just really leaning in on what I’ve experienced, what I’ve learned and some of the lessons I’ve been able to make sense of in how to come back in this series, because it is going to be a possession-by-possession thing, and it is going to be the hardest thing that we’ve ever done.”
The Mavs will look to win on their home court against a Celtics team that has not yet lost a road game in the playoffs, going 6-0. Boston has gone 43-1 in series in which it took a 2-0 lead, with the lone loss coming during the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals during Jayson Tatum’s rookie season.
So, yes, history suggests that Game 3 is a must-win situation for the Mavericks.
Here’s a look at the teams that have come back from a 2-0 deficit in the NBA Finals to win the championship.
How many teams have come back from 2-0 in the NBA Finals?
Of the 36 teams that have gone down 2-0 in the NBA Finals, only five have come back to win the series and bring home a championship.
Which teams have come back from 2-0 in the NBA Finals?
Here are the five teams that overcame a 2-0 deficit in the NBA Finals to win the championship:
- 2021 Milwaukee Bucks (defeated the Phoenix Suns in six games)
- 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers (defeated the Golden State Warriors in seven games)
- 2006 Miami Heat (defeated the Dallas Mavericks in six games)
- 1977 Portland Trail Blazers (defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in six games)
- 1969 Boston Celtics (defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games)
How many NBA teams have come back from being down 3-0 in the playoffs?
An NBA team has never come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the series in the playoffs. Teams that opened a 3-0 series lead in an NBA postseason series have gone 156-0, including nine sweeps in the NBA Finals.
Only one team has come back from a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals to win the championship: the 2016 Cavaliers, who won three straight games to stun the Warriors.
How many sweeps have there been in the NBA Finals?
There have been nine 4-0 sweeps in NBA Finals history, with the most recent in 2018.
The Celtics took a 2-0 NBA Finals series lead over the Mavericks with a 105-98 win. Here’s a look at the best sneakers, pregame outfits and moments from Game 2 Sunday.