So much for home-court advantage in the NBA playoffs.
Indiana, Toronto and the Los Angeles Clippers all gave it away Saturday, a day when road teams enjoyed a slew of opening-day success. The Pacers lost to Atlanta 101-93, Toronto fell to Brooklyn 94-87 and the Clippers were topped by Golden State 109-105.
The Pacers became the third No. 1 seed in the last decade to lose Game 1 of the playoffs – and history suggests Indiana is now in some trouble. Dallas lost its playoff opener to Golden State in 2007, San Antonio fell to eighth-seeded Memphis to open the 2011 playoffs, and both wound up being eliminated in those respective series.
According to STATS, the only season where road teams won more than three games to open a playoff season was 1966. Visiting clubs won the first five games of that postseason.
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