Will the Warriors become the latest team to steal home-court advantage in Round 2 of the 2025 NBA playoffs?
No. 7-seeded Golden State enters the Target Center in Minneapolis on Tuesday for Game 1 of its conference semifinal series against the No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves. And if Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Co. take the series opener from the Anthony Edwards-led Wolves, it would mark a historic start to the playoff round.
There never has been an instance in playoff history where all four Game 1s in the conference/division semis were won by road teams, per the NBA. But it could happen this postseason after the Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets each recorded Game 1 victories away from home.
The No. 4 Pacers opened the second round on Sunday with a 121-112 win over the Darius Garland-less No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers. The No. 3 Knicks and No. 4 Nuggets both then pulled off thrilling comeback wins on Monday. New York erased a 20-point deficit and beat the defending champion No. 2 Boston Celtics 118-115 in overtime, while Denver stunned the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder 121-119 on a game-winning 3-pointer from Aaron Gordon.
This is the seventh postseason where three road teams earned Game 1 wins in the conference/division semis, according to the NBA. And Golden State will make playoff history with a series-opening road victory of its own.