The Warriors are in unfamiliar territory.
For a second straight game, the defending champions and Kings went toe-to-toe for all four quarters. And for the second straight game, the upstart Kings — in their first playoff appearance since 2006 — came out on top.
In the heat of the moment, it's tough to ignore how Game 2 went down.
Draymond Green's untimely ejection, De'Aaron Fox's clutch-time heroics, Stephen Curry's unrelenting late push, Jordan Poole's ongoing struggles and the home crowd's deafening cowbells all rightfully deserve closer examination.
And yet no matter which lens you view this series, it boils down to one simple fact: The Kings are up 2-0 on the Warriors. Here's everything you need to know about what happens next.
Last time Warriors trailed 2-0 in playoff series
The last time the Warriors trailed 2-0 in a playoff series, Curry had just wrapped up his freshman season at Davidson, and Thompson and Green were both still in high school.
Golden State hasn't trailed 2-0 in a series since the 2007 NBA Playoffs, when Baron Davis, Steven Jackson, Jason Richardson and co. had dropped the first two games of the Western Conference Semifinals to Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer and the Jazz.
Utah went on to defeat Golden State in five games in that series.
Has Stephen Curry ever trailed 2-0 in a playoff series?
No, he has not.
This is the first time the Warriors' dynasty trio of Curry, Thompson and Green have lost Games 1 and 2 of a playoff series.
In the dynasty era, Golden State had only lost Game 1 two other times prior to this series — Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals against the Celtics and Game 1 of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Raptors.
Warriors comebacks from 2-0 in playoff series
The Warriors have only come back from down 2-0 in playoff series once in franchise history, and you'd have to go all the way back to the 1987 NBA Playoffs to find that example.
Led by head coach George Karl and star guard Sleepy Floyd, Golden State overcame a 2-0 deficit to Karl Malone, John Stockton, Mark Eaton and the Jazz, winning three consecutive games to advance in the Best of 5 series.
How many teams have come back from 2-0 in playoff series?
According to Land of Basketball's database, there are only 32 teams out of 442 instances that have come back from down 2-0 in a playoff series.
That, historically, gives the Warriors a whopping 7.2 percent chance of pulling off this comeback.
Recent examples of teams overcoming a 2-0 deficit include:
- 2022 West Semis: Mavericks defeat Suns 4-3
- 2021 NBA Finals: Bucks defeat Suns 4-2
- 2021 West Semis: Clippers defeat Jazz 4-2
- 2021 East Semis: Bucks defeat Nets 4-3
- 2021 West First Round: Clippers defeat Mavericks 4-3
