On Sunday night, the San Antonio Spurs lost 92-86.
That wouldn't be remarkable, except that it was San Antonio's first home loss of the season: the Spurs are 39-1. It's even more noteworthy because the loss came in a possible preview of the Western Conference Finals, against the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors themselves didn't lose at home until April Fool's Day, piling up a 36-0 home record before back-to-back home losses. Two weeks ago, it looked likely that the Spurs or Warriors — maybe both — would finish the regular season undefeated at home.
No team has done that. The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls went 39-2 at home. That's exceptional, but it's not undefeated. The record is held by the 1985-86 Boston Celtics, who went 40-1 at home. Here's something interesting: the Celtics split their historic home record between two venues, going 37-1 at the Boston Garden and 3-0 at the Hartford Civic Center. You don't really see that any more, teams playing their home games at multiple venues. The Green Bay Packers played a game in Milwaukee for 40 years, but they stopped in 1995. I'm not sure how I feel about that: it was a charming tradition, but the modern expectation of sticking with one home probably makes more sense. It's easier for local fans and it probably provides a better home-court advantage.
Boston went 27-14 on the road, for an overall record of 67-15. The Celtics went 11-1 in the Eastern Conference playoffs, then won the NBA Finals 4-2. They went 10-0 at home in postseason play, all at the Garden. Unlike the Spurs and Warriors, Boston lost at home early in the season, on December 6. That brought their home record to 9-1, after which the Celtics won 41 consecutive home games to close out the regular season and playoffs.
With a win on Tuesday night, the Spurs can tie the Celtics' 30-year-old record. We won't know until Wednesday whether the Warriors edged Chicago for the best regular season record in NBA history. Golden State is 72-9, so a loss would tie the Bulls and a win would set the record.
But it's the home records that I find most interesting. The Warriors, obviously, are favorites to win a second consecutive championship. But the Spurs can't be dismissed. They certainly have playoff experience and a championship pedigree, and until a couple days ago, they were invincible at home.
Practically speaking, there's not much difference between 41-0 or 40-1. But psychologically, there's a vast difference. The Spurs only lost one game at home, but it was late in the season, against their most important opponent. If we assumed the Spurs could win all their home games in the playoffs, that would mean they'd only need to take one road game from Golden State to reach the Finals. If I'm a Spurs fan, I feel a lot more confident going into the postseason undefeated at home than I do at 40-1. Maybe that's silly. Maybe not.
Conversely, the Warriors are 38-2 at home. Can anyone really count on beating them in Oakland? If Golden State and San Antonio meet in the Western Finals, the home team will probably win at least five games, maybe even all seven. In a year with two truly exceptional teams, including maybe the best in history, battling for the Western Conference title, home court could play a bigger role than it has in a very long time.
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