The Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers have gotten this far in the postseason by winning at home.
But the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat are going to the NBA Finals by winning on the road.
The Grizzlies and Pacers were very good home teams in the regular season. Memphis was 32-9 and lost just once at FedEx Forum after Feb. 8. Indiana was 30-11 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and went more than two months early in the season without a home loss.
And while teams in the top of the bracket such as Oklahoma City, New York, Denver, Brooklyn and even San Antonio and Miami stubbed their toes at home early in the postseason, Memphis and Indiana remained perfect in their own buildings. Both teams were 6-0 at home through the first two rounds.
While the Grizzlies and Pacers were surprising us by reaching the conference finals with a staunch defense of their home court that matched their schemes against their opponents, the Spurs and Heat each had early stumbles at home that had us questioning their potential vulnerability instead of noticing that they have been virtually invincible on the road.
The Spurs are 5-1 in the road on the postseason, with their only loss coming in overtime in Game 4 at Golden State. The Heat have been even better, winning all five of their road games by an average of 15 points.
“It’s always sweet to win on the road,” Spurs guard Tony Parker said.
“This is a great group of guys that always loved the pressure moments,” Heat superstar LeBron James said. “Being 1-1, a team taking our home court away and we have to go on the road to win.”
This is how you win championships, folks. Running the table at home through an entire postseason is highly unrealistic given the level of competition. The last team to do it en route to a title was the 1996 Chicago Bulls, who were pretty much unbeatable anywhere.
But winning consistently on the road in the postseason can be the formula for a championship. The 1995 Houston Rockets were 9-3 on the road, winning their last seven. The 2004 Detroit Pistons were 6-4. The 2011 Dallas Mavericks were 7-3, taking seven of their last eight.
And both the Spurs and Heat have been doing it for a while. In their three previous title runs – all with Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili on board – the Spurs are a combined 22-10 on the road. The Heat have gone 5-5 on the road in each of the last two postseasons with James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh leading the way.
This weekend, both the Spurs and Heat clearly illustrated to the Grizzlies and Pacers – and anyone else who was watching – the difference between contending for an NBA title and playing for one is the ability to win on the road.
Although the Grizzlies came home from San Antonio in a 2-0 hole, it didn’t seem so cavernous 
because they had climbed out of the same hole against the Clippers, pushed the Spurs to overtime in Game 2 and yet to lose at home.
And then the Spurs ripped their hearts out by erasing an 18-point deficit and winning in overtime. With one road win, the Spurs ended Memphis’ aura of invincibility at home, threw the Grizzlies in a grave no team has ever climbed out of and set themselves up for another welcome rest.
“We understand what we have going here, and we understand that we want to finish is as quickly as we can,” Duncan said.
The Pacers were one stop from coming home with a 2-0 lead over the Heat, whom they had pushed around for two games. They had won all their home games by an average of 14 points and were hosting Game 3 on Indianapolis 500 Weekend, which they had not done in seven years.
And the Heat never trailed over the last 40 minutes, blew up the defensive schemes of the Pacers and cruised to an easy victory. With one road win, Miami threw a world of doubt around Indiana, which now must win Game 4 just to get back in the series.