Teams to go 2-0 in NBA Finals: Spurs find themselves in historic hole after Game 2 loss to Knicks

Teams up 2-0 in NBA Finals: Spurs find themselves in historic hole after Game 2 loss to Knicks appeared first on Sporting News. Add Sports News as a Favorite Source by clicking here.

Things could be going very well for the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals.

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After two games of what was expected to be a back-to-back series between two deep, top teams, Mitch Johnson’s young team was shut out in both home games to open the series. In Game 1, Jalen Brunson silenced the Spurs in the fourth quarter, and Karl-Anthony Towns looks like the early favorite for Finals MVP with all-around play — and while Victor Wembanyama’s numbers look solid, he hasn’t done enough to get the Finals just yet.

Now, facing a 2-0 series deficit as the series heads to Madison Square Garden, history is certainly not on the Spurs’ side.

Here’s a look at the history of the 2-0 series deficit as the Spurs came off a tough Game 2 loss on Friday night.

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The teams won 2-0 in the NBA Finals

Per Land Of Basketball, the 2026 Spurs are now the 38th instance of a team trailing 2-0 in an NBA Finals series. In the last 37, only five teams have come back to win the series.

The following teams finished 0-2 in the finals:

Most recently, Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks back to the 2021 title after Phoenix took a 2-0 series lead. LeBron James did the same, leading the Cavaliers back from both 2-0 and 3-1 series deficits in 2016.

Now, Wembanyama will have a tough task to complete that comeback if they are to win their first title.

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MORE: How Karl-Anthony Towns continued his dominant playoff run in Game 2

The teams lost 2-0 at home in the NBA Finals

Things get worse for the Spurs considering the fact that they played Game 1 and 2 of the series against New York in front of their home fans, but still lost both. That has only happened twice in NBA history, and no trailblazing team has been able to overcome its deficit on the road.

In the 1993 NBA Finals, the Chicago Bulls took the first two games of the series against the Suns in Phoenix. And while the Suns went on to win Game 3 in Chicago, then took another draw in Game 5, Michael Jordan’s 33 points in Game 6 sealed the series.

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More recently, the 1995 Orlando Magic faced a much smaller battle after losing two home games to open the Finals vs. Houston. Hakeem Olajuwon led the Rockets to two road wins against a young Shaquille O’Neal, and Houston went on to sweep the series, winning Game 4 in front of its home fans.

If the Spurs can make a 2-0 series comeback against the Knicks, they will become the first team in NBA history to lose two home games to open the Finals, but win it all.