DALLAS — It's a rough time to be a Mavericks fan, to say the least, after Dallas blew a 19-point lead in Game 2 and another loss at home in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.
Luka Doncic has scored 40-plus points in back-to-back games, but he and the Mavericks find themselves in a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 series hole. The bad news is there has never been a team in NBA history to come back after losing the first three games of the series.
The Mavericks are no strangers to overcoming odds, however. In the last series against the Phoenix Suns, they lost what typically serves as a "crucial" Game 5.
Historically, teams that win Game 5 go on to win the series 82% of the time. We all know what happened there. They ultimately fell into that 18%.
Let's not mince words, though.
The Mavericks will have to do something no team in NBA history has ever done. If the Mavs' history follows its trend, though, we're at least looking at another Game 5.
Let me explain.
In the Mavs playoff history, the team has been down 3-0 in a seven-game series (the first round moved from best of 5 to best of 7 in 2003) four separate times. In three of those four matchups, Dallas won Game 4. This happened in 2000 against the San Antonio Spurs, in 2008 against the Denver Nuggets and in 2014 against the Houston Rockets.
The only time Dallas has been swept in a seven-game series was in 2011 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, led by its three-headed attack in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. That Oklahoma City team went on to lose in the NBA Finals to the LeBron James-led Miami Heat. Dallas was also swept 3-0 by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1989, but again ... the first round back then was only a best-of-five series.
The chances are extremely slim, but the glimmer of hope remains, Mavs fans. More bad news though: all three of the aforementioned 3-0 scenarios where the Mavs won Game 4 ... ended up losing the fourth and final time in Game 5.
And a Dallas win in Game 4 wouldn't hurt the feelings, or pocketbooks, of the Warriors' front office. If the Warriors sweep, it'll cost them some cash. WFAA's Jason Wheeler explored how much money the Warriors would get for hosting another home game.
Finally, if Jason Kidd's post-game press conference is any indication, these Mavs aren't going to roll over and say die just because the mountain climb ahead seems to be endless. The focus: just win the next game ... one game at a time.
"It's just one game ... get ready for Game 4 and that's all we can focus on," Kidd said. "I think I said this in the last series, this is just the beginning of this journey. I know you guys all had us winning the championship before the season started ... that's a joke if you didn't get it. This is a lot bigger than this one game or this series. This is huge for our franchise because none of you guys had us here. [Dallas media] were all supposed to be on vacation."
Kidd went on to say this is only the beginning and the Mavs will be ready to go for Game 4.
One game at a time.
Game 4 tips off from the American Airlines Center at 8 p.m.