The New York Knicks stand just one victory from the NBA Finals, riding a historic 10-game playoff winning streak that has rewritten the record books.
This remarkable run has broken both franchise and league records for dominance.
After falling behind Atlanta 2-1 in the opening round, the Knicks have been unstoppable, capturing 10 straight wins. They rallied to take the final three contests against the Hawks, then dominated Philadelphia with a complete sweep in Round 2, and currently hold a commanding 3-0 advantage over Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals.
While the victories appear effortless, Knicks coach Mike Brown emphasized that “there’s nothing easy about this” and acknowledged that having “a little bit of luck” helps as well.
“They’re doing the things I always talk about: they’re holding each other accountable, they’re believing in the process, they’re playing with a competitive spirit that is unmatched,” Brown said. “If you do those things while focusing on the detail and communicating and bringing energy and effort you have a chance to string some games together.”
Here’s an examination of the statistics behind this month-long dominance by the Knicks:
During these 10 straight playoff victories, the Knicks have outscored their opponents by a total of 225 points. No team in NBA history has ever achieved such a dominant margin during any 10-game stretch in either regular season or postseason play.
Prior to this playoff campaign, the Knicks’ most dominant 10-game winning streak occurred from Oct. 24 through Nov. 11, 1969, when they outscored opponents by 168 points. That team captured the NBA championship.
The previous record for the most dominant 10-game playoff winning streak belonged to the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors, who outscored their opponents by 171 points during their championship run. Mike Brown, currently the Knicks’ head coach, served as an assistant coach on that Warriors team.
Before this streak, the NBA record for point differential across any 10-game span was held by the Milwaukee Bucks during the 1973-74 season with a 214-point margin. However, the Bucks went 9-1 in those contests. The previous record for the most dominant 10-game winning streak also belonged to Milwaukee, who outscored opponents by 212 points from Feb. 11 through Feb. 24, 1971.
New York’s current 10-game winning streak ranks as the fifth-longest in a single postseason.
Golden State opened the 2017 playoffs with 15 consecutive wins. San Antonio captured 12 straight in the 1999 playoffs, while the Los Angeles Lakers achieved 11-game playoff winning streaks twice — in 1989, when Detroit swept them in the NBA Finals, and in 2001 when they defeated Philadelphia for the championship.
The Knicks now join Boston (2024), Cleveland (2016 and 2017), San Antonio (2012) and New Jersey (2003) as teams with 10-game winning streaks within the same postseason.
Before this year, the Knicks’ longest playoff winning streak within a single season was six games in 1999.
New York has tallied 1,222 points during their winning streak. The Knicks become the eighth team to score that many points across a 10-game postseason span.
Among the previous seven teams, five claimed NBA championships — Golden State in 2017, the Lakers in 1987, the Lakers in 1985, Philadelphia in 1967 and Boston in 1959.
The two that fell short were Denver in 1985 and San Antonio in 1983.
The Knicks are converting 53.8% of their shots during this 10-game run, the highest percentage in the NBA since this streak started on April 25.
Oklahoma City ranks second at 50.1% since that date. No other team in the league has shot above 50% during these past four weeks.
New York has captured five straight playoff road games — matching the longest such streak in franchise history. Last season’s Knicks also achieved a five-game road winning streak.
However, all five victories in this current Knicks’ streak have been decided by double digits — tying the longest such streak in NBA playoff history.
Miami won five consecutive road games by double digits in 2013, and Golden State accomplished the same feat in 2017. Both teams won NBA titles in those respective seasons.
