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Celtics first No. 1 seed in 24 years to start playoffs 0-2

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports / Action Images

Securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs doesn't mean a heck of a lot right now for the Boston Celtics.

After losing 111-97 to the Chicago Bulls Tuesday night on their home floor, the Celtics now find themselves with their backs against the wall in a major way as their opening-round series moves to The Windy City for Games 3 and 4.

The last time a No. 1 seed dropped the first two games to a No. 8 seed was in 1993 when Charles Barkley's Phoenix Suns battled the Los Angeles Lakers. The first round was only a best-of-five at the time, with Phoenix eventually eliminating the Lakers by taking three straight.

It's not out of the realm of possibility for Boston to complete a comeback and bounce the Bulls, though, even with three of the next four games at United Center. There have been 18 other instances in league history where a team has trailed 0-2 in the postseason, only to rally and take the series.

Year Winner Loser Round
1969 Boston Lakers NBA Finals
1969 Lakers San Francisco West Semis
1971 Baltimore New York East Finals
1977 Portland Philadelphia NBA Finals
1993 Chicago New York East Finals
1994 Houston Phoenix West Semis
1995 Houston Phoenix West Semis
2004 Lakers San Antonio West Semis
2005 Dallas Houston First Round
2005 Washington Chicago First Round
2006 Miami Dallas NBA Finals
2007 Utah Houston First Round
2007 Cleveland Detroit East Finals
2008 San Antonio New Orleans West Semis
2012 Oklahoma City San Antonio West Finals
2013 Memphis Clippers First Round
2016 Portland Clippers First Round
2016 Cleveland Warriors NBA Finals

(courtesy: Odds Shark)

Then again, Boston's recent history in Chicago hasn't been pretty, as it was on Nov. 8, 2014 when they last took a road game against the Bulls.

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