The New York Knicks were able to hold off a late run by the San Antonio Spurs and won Game 2 of the NBA Finals. With a definite advantage and the next two games being at Madison Square Garden, history indicates they are in prime position to get the all-elusive championship.
The NBA Finals is played in a best-of-seven series format. Teams that win the first two games have a 31-5 record, winning an 86.1% of the time. This is a massive precedent to state the Knicks are in a top-tier spot headed to the next two games at MSG.
Even better for the Knicks, no team in NBA Finals history has ever come back from an 0-2 deficit after losing the first two games at home. That’s the scenario the Spurs are facing right now. If they come back, it will literally be a history-changing moment.
Which teams came back from an 0-2 NBA Finals deficit?
The five historic teams that were able to come back are spread throughout decades. However, three of them are in the 21st century. The first to made it were the Boston Celtics, that trailed the Los Angeles Lakers. In 1977, the Portland Trail Blazers trailed the Philadelphia 76ers but managed to come back.
In 2006, the Miami Heat came back to beat the Dallas Mavericks. Then, in 2016 the Cleveland Cavaliers led by LeBron James did it against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors. Last but not least, the Milwaukee Bucks came back after losing the first two games vs. the Phoenix Suns in 2021.
Knicks are quite literally undefeated in this NBA Playoffs
The Knicks have won 13 games in a row during the 2026 NBA Playoffs. Game 2 against the Spurs was a narrow 105-104 win, but it doesn’t matter, they’ll take it. This is the second-longest single-postseason winning streak in NBA history. The 2016-2017 Warriors managed to win 15 straight games.
This Knicks’ streak also includes eight straight road wins. This puts them as the best-ever road-game winning streak in the NBA playoffs, tied with the 2001 Lakers, led by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
