“You just take solace in the fact that we have a challenge ahead of us and we have a chance to go after it together, and we have to do it,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “We don’t really have a choice and we’ve just got to figure it out.”
Coming back from a 2-0 deficit is unlikely but has been done multiple times. The Pacers rallied against the Knicks in the conference semifinals last year before bowing out in the following round to the Celtics.
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Jaylen Brown and Al Horford have been on both sides with the Celtics. The top-seeded Celtics won four straight against the Bulls after dropping the first two games of their first-round series in 2017. The following year, the LeBron James-led Cavaliers came back from down, 2-0, in the conference finals to beat the Celtics in seven games.
Here’s a look at 10 instances when a Boston team was involved in an 0-2 comeback.
2023 NBA Eastern Conference finals
The Celtics nearly became the first team in NBA history to dig themselves out of a 3-0 deficit after White forced Game 7 with a tip-in off of a missed 3-pointer from Marcus Smart.
Jayson Tatum sprained his ankle on the first play of Game 7 in a collision with the Heat’s Gabe Vincent. Tatum stayed in the game and played 42 minutes, but admitted afterward he felt like a shell of himself. Brown went 8 for 23 with eight turnovers as the Celtics mustered just 84 points.
2018 NBA Eastern Conference finals
Tatum and Brown showed flashes of their potential as they took the Cavaliers to the brink without veterans Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.
Boston took the first two games at TD Garden. Cleveland found its offensive footing at home and tied the series at 2.
The Celtics won Game 5 and the Cavaliers Game 6, setting up Game 7 at TD Garden. But James willed the Cavaliers to victory with 35 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 assists.
2011 NHL Eastern Conference quarterfinals
The Bruins made their first comeback from 0-2, beating the Canadiens in seven games. They also were the first team in NHL history to win a seven-game series without scoring a power-play goal.
Nathan Horton scored the winning goals in Games 5 and 7.
2011 Stanley Cup Final
The Canucks jumped out to a 2-0 lead on home ice, but the Bruins won back-to-back games to even the series.
The Bruins dropped Game 5, marking their third road loss of the series. However, the fourth time was the charm as Tim Thomas made 37 saves and the Bruins shut out the Canucks, 4-0, in Game 7.
Bruins goalie Tim Thomas shut out the Canucks in Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.CHIN, BARRY
2017 NBA Eastern Conference first round
The Bulls, who featured Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade, and former Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo, stunned the top-seeded Celtics by taking the first two games.
The Celtics roared back and won four straight behind the inspired play of Isaiah Thomas, who averaged 23 points while mourning his sister, who died in a car crash 13 days before the clincher.
2004 American League Championship Series
After a 19-8 shellacking in Game 3 at Fenway Park, the Red Sox won four straight against the rival Yankees and became the first team in major league history to overcome a 3-0 postseason deficit.
Curt Schilling pitched the Red Sox to a 4-2 victory in Game 6, then Johnny Damon broke the 10-3 series finale open with a grand slam.
Johnny Damon’s grand slam broke open Game 7 of the ALCS against the Yankees in 2004.Jim Davis/Globe Staff
2003 American League Division Series
The Red Sox lost the first two games to the host A’s, then tied the series by winning a pair of games at Fenway Park.
Pedro Martinez outdueled Barry Zito in Game 5, and Manny Ramirez clubbed a three-run homer that accounted for most of the offense in the 4-3 win.
1999 American League Division Series
Ramirez, then with Cleveland, went 1 for 18 and finished this series homerless, but that didn’t stop the Indians from taking the first two games.
John Valentin drove in a series-high 12 runs as the Red Sox scored 35 runs over the final two games.
1986 World Series
The Red Sox suffered their most infamous loss in Game 6 when Mookie Wilson drove in the winning run on a ground ball that rolled through Bill Buckner’s legs.
The Mets prevailed, 8-5, in Game 7. It was the first time a New York team had beaten a Boston team in a championship series.
1969 NBA Finals
The Celtics became the first team in NBA history to overcome an 0-2 deficit in the Finals, beating the Lakers in seven games.
It was the last of Bill Russell’s 11 championships. Russell scored just 6 points in the clincher but grabbed 21 rebounds. John Havlicek and Sam Jones combined for 50 points.
Khari Thompson can be reached at khari.thompson@globe.com.