Spurs chase the 1993 Suns blueprint after falling 0-2 in the NBA Finals

San Antonio is staring at a familiar matchup with history, with a 1993 Phoenix team that once rallied from an 0-2 Finals hole to force a 2-2 tie, only to fall short in the end.

By The Apex Times Newsroom3 min readAI-assisted Apex article

The San Antonio Spurs entered Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals in a position they are determined not to treat like a verdict. The New York Knicks took a 2-0 series lead after winning the first two games in San Antonio, and both teams used a travel day Saturday before ramping up with practice Sunday. Game 3 is set for Monday night at Madison Square Garden, where the Spurs will look to turn early-season momentum into late-series answers.

That urgency has drawn an old comparison because the 2-0 hole Spurs now face echoes the most scrutinized comeback stories in NBA history. In the 1993 NBA Finals, the Phoenix Suns began the series against the Chicago Bulls by losing the first two games, putting themselves in an 0-2 deficit. According to NBA game coverage, the Bulls’ road wins left Phoenix with work to do before the series shifted again.

Phoenix responded in a way that still defines what “refuse to go away” looks like. The Suns won Game 3 in triple overtime, 129-121, forcing a series that had looked headed for a quick ending to stretch. They then held their nerve through Game 4 and, after eliminating a new layer of danger in the back half of the series, pushed to the brink again before the Bulls ultimately closed it out in Game 6, winning the Finals 4-2.

The lesson is not just that comebacks are possible, but how uncommon they are at the top level. A Sports Illustrated breakdown of Finals history notes that since 1947, 37 teams have previously faced a 2-0 deficit in the NBA Finals, and only five have come back to win the championship. It also flags how often teams getting down that far are swept or finish the job only after forcing a Game 7. In other words, the Spurs are not dealing with a statistical inevitability, but the burden is real.

San Antonio’s path is particularly narrow because it is arriving after leading at times in the first two games without turning that advantage into wins. The same Sports Illustrated preview pointed to double-digit leads in both Finals games in San Antonio and noted a costly moment in Game 2, details that matter when a series hinges on late-game execution. The Spurs, as they insist publicly, are framing the next stretch as the start of a new series, but Game 3 remains the most immediate barometer for whether they can convert adjustments into swing momentum.

The 1993 Suns angle also carries franchise weight beyond the matchup history. Phoenix’s reputation as a perennial contender without a title is rooted in longevity and regular-season production, including an all-time record of 2,510 wins and a.535 winning percentage that ranks among the league’s best. Yet the Suns’ greatest postseason moments have ended in Finals losses, making the 1993 story a recurring reference point whenever history, especially championship-level history, reappears.

For the Spurs, what comes next is less about repeating a specific moment and more about sustaining the two skills that tend to separate teams down 0-2 from teams that simply run out of time. They will need steadier performance when the Knicks tighten rotations and lean into their own half-court control, and they will need to protect leads or quickly erase setbacks when the game turns. If San Antonio can make Game 3 a real reset, the 1993 precedent becomes less a haunting footnote and more an example of how quickly a Finals storyline can change course.

Why It Matters

Game 3 becomes a defining checkpoint for the Spurs, since historical comebacks from 0-2 in the Finals are rare and often hinge on how quickly execution sharpens.
The 1993 Suns precedent matters because it shows a realistic, time-tested path to force the series back on its feet, even after losing the first two games.
The matchup highlights how late-series margin is created, not just by talent, but by converting leads, minimizing critical errors, and sustaining performance in high-leverage stretches.
For the Knicks, a 2-0 lead is valuable for pacing and confidence, but it also invites the opponent to pursue the kind of turnaround pattern that history can reinforce.
The Suns’ broader franchise story adds cultural weight to the comparison, reinforcing why 1993 keeps resurfacing whenever championship narratives return to an early deficit.

Sources

Key Facts

The 2026 NBA Finals are Knicks vs. Spurs, with New York holding a 2-0 series lead after the first two games in San Antonio.
Game 3 is scheduled for Monday night at Madison Square Garden, with practices resuming Sunday after the teams’ travel day.
In the 1993 NBA Finals, the Phoenix Suns fell into an 0-2 deficit to the Chicago Bulls before rallying to win Game 3 in triple overtime.
The 1993 Suns went on to force a 2-2 tie before ultimately losing the Finals 4-2.
Since 1947, a Sports Illustrated review says 37 teams have faced a 2-0 Finals deficit, and only five have come back to win the championship.
The same historical review also emphasizes that Game 3 is critical for teams trying to avoid the most likely outcomes from a 2-0 deficit.
Phoenix’s franchise all-time record is 2,510 wins with a.535 winning percentage, and the team has not won an NBA championship despite that long production.