If the Mavericks can climb out of an 0-2 hole and beat the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, it will not have been the first time Mike Breen has witnessed that sort of comeback in person.
There have been five occasions in NBA history where a team has come back from being down 2-0 to win the title. Breen, who is calling his 19th championship series for ABC/ESPN, was on the call for three of them: Miami over Dallas (2006), Cleveland over Golden State (2016), and Milwaukee over Phoenix (2021).
History may not be on the Mavericks' side, as 31 of the 36 teams who have taken the first two games of the NBA Finals have gone on to win the series, but Breen's not ready to count out the Mavericks just yet.
"All is not lost. It's amazing every year, in every playoff series, how one win can completely turn around the perception of the series," Breen said Tuesday on Shan and RJ on 105.3 The Fan. "For them to win the title, they got to win four of five but that can't be the mindset. All they've got to do is a win a game tomorrow night."
And how can the Mavericks get back in the series?
"At this point, I know it sounds simple, so much of it is just 'will.' The Celtics have had great will here in the first two games and now it's a chance for the Mavericks to respond. What's their mindset coming in, do they really feel deep inside that they have a chance to win the series? I think they probably do because we've seen it from them. They're a strong team mentally, they are a strong, resilient team. But that's a big part of it, you still think you can come out, and out-compete this team, play harder, play better and get a victory in Game 3 and completely turn around this series."
Dallas will look to impose their will against the Celtics in Game 3 on Wednesday night at the American Airlines Center.
Breen also discussed why Kyrie Irving has been struggling in the series, why Jayson Tatum isn't catching more heat, Luka Doncic's brilliance while playing through injuries, Kristaps Porzingis's calf injury, and more.