The San Antonio Spurs do not want to go down 3-1. As an inexperienced playoff team, going down 3-1 means San Antonio would travel back to raucous Oklahoma City, with the Thunder one win away from advancing to back-to-back NBA Finals.
That would not be ideal.
Plus, in NBA playoff history, only 15 teams have successfully come back from 3-1 down to win a series.
Only once has it happened in the NBA Finals: 10 years ago, when the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in a historic seven-game series in 2016.
These playoffs have seen the 3-1 successful comeback occur: the Philadelphia 76ers over the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons over the Orlando Magic.
It’s doable, but it’s a massive hurdle to overcome, given how tough the Thunder are.
