Can the Cavaliers rally from 0-2 hole and beat the Warriors again?
The Cleveland Cavaliers are in familiar territory.
The defending champions are down two games to none against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, the same deficit they faced heading into last year’s Game 3.
The Cavaliers won that game, then became the first team in Finals history to overcome a 3-1 hole to win the title.
Not many NBA teams rally from being down 2-0. The Boston Celtics did it in the first round of this postseason, beating the Chicago Bulls to become just the 19th team since 1969 to win a seven-game series despite losing the first two contests.
Can the Cavaliers become No. 20? Their first chance comes Wednesday night, when they host the Warriors at Quicken Loans Arena.
Here’s a look at the teams who have come back from an 0-2 hole:
Series Winner | Opponent | Year | Playoff Round |
Celtics | Lakers | 1969 | NBA Finals |
Lakers | Warriors | 1969 | West finals |
Bullets | Knicks | 1971 | East finals |
Trail Blazers | 76ers | 1977 | NBA Finals |
Bulls | Knicks | 1993 | East finals |
Rockets | Suns | 1994 | West semifinals |
Rockets | Suns | 1995 | West semifinals |
Lakers | Spurs | 2004 | West semifinals |
Mavericks | Rockets | 2005 | West first round |
Wizards | Bulls | 2005 | East first round |
Heat | Mavericks | 2006 | NBA Finals |
Jazz | Rockets | 2007 | West first round |
Cavaliers | Pistons | 2007 | East finals |
Spurs | Hornets | 2008 | West semifinals |
Thunder | Spurs | 2012 | West finals |
Grizzlies | Clippers | 2013 | West first round |
Trail Blazers | Clippers | 2016 | West first round |
Cavaliers | Warriors | 2016 | NBA Finals |
Celtics | Bulls | 2017 | East first round |
This story was originally published June 6, 2017 at 8:18 PM with the headline "Can the Cavaliers rally from 0-2 hole and beat the Warriors again?."