Take a look at some of the best plays by the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals.
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The New York Knicks may have had the most incredible playoff run in NBA history.
It was doom and gloom when they were down 2-1 in the first round … and then they won 13 straight games, the second-longest playoff winning streak in NBA history. It came to an end in Game 3 of the Finals, but that was just a small bump on the road to the franchise’s first championship since 1973.
Here are five numbers to know about the Knicks’ title run:
1. Best playoff run ever?
14.9 — The Knicks outscored their opponents by 14.9 points per game, the best point differential in NBA playoff history.
Largest average point differential, NBA playoff history
| Team | Year | W | L | PPG | Opp PPG | Diff. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 2026 | 16 | 3 | 115.8 | 100.9 | +14.9 |
| Milwaukee | 1971 | 12 | 2 | 109.1 | 94.6 | +14.5 |
| Golden State | 2017 | 16 | 1 | 119.3 | 105.8 | +13.5 |
| L.A. Lakers | 2001 | 15 | 1 | 103.4 | 90.6 | +12.8 |
| Chicago | 1991 | 15 | 2 | 103.9 | 92.2 | +11.7 |
Those two losses to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round each came by a single point, and their Game 3 loss in the Finals came by just four. So the Knicks joined the 1991 and 1998 Chicago Bulls as the only teams since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1984 (43 years) to win a championship without losing a single game by at least five points.
And while every game in the Finals was within two points in the final two minutes, the Knicks still had 12 wins by double-digits, tied for the most in NBA playoff history. Five of those wins (including each of their first three close-out games) came by at least 29 points.
In Karl-Anthony Towns’ 578 playoff minutes, the Knicks outscored their opponents by 258 points. That’s the best plus-minus in a single postseason for any player in the 30 years of play-by-play data, topping Stephen Curry’s mark of plus-245 in 2016-17.
2. The kings of the comeback
6-2 — The Knicks were 6-2 in playoff games they trailed by double-digits. That’s the best such playoff record for any team in the 30 years of play-by-play data.
In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, they came back from 22 points down to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were, previously 40-1 in games they led by at least 15.
In the Finals, the Knicks, amazingly, trailed all five games by double-digits, losing the five first quarters by a total of 57 points. But they came back every time, and their 29-point deficit in Game 4 was tied for the second biggest deficit overcome to win a playoff game in the 30 years of play-by-play data. It was the largest overcome in the Finals over that time.
In the regular season, the Knicks were more frontrunners than masters of the comeback. They were 46-6 (third best) when leading by double-digits, but just 14-26 (10th best) in games they trailed by double-digits. The largest regular-season deficit they overcame to win was 21 points, and they topped that twice in the playoffs.
3. Anunoby was on a heater
67.2% — OG Anunoby had an effective field goal percentage of 67.2%, the highest mark for a player with at least 150 field goal attempts in NBA playoff history.
That was a huge jump from Anunoby’s effective field goal percentage of 58.1% in the regular season. There was some improvement in the paint (where he had the biggest bucket in Knicks history) and he was 10-for-17 (59%) from mid-range, but it was mostly about his 3-point shooting.
Anunoby was 44-for-90 (49%) from beyond the arc, the fourth best mark for a player with 75 attempts in a single postseason in the 47 years of the 3-point line (368 instances). That included 16-for-27 (59%) from the left corner.
That 67.2% is No. 1 of 1,441 instances where a player took at least 150 shots in a single postseason, but Anunoby wasn’t alone. Towns (62.0%, up from 55.6% in the regular season) and Mikal Bridges (62.0%, up from 57.1% in the regular season) are 18th and 19th on the list.
4. Every champion needs a little luck
34.6% — Knicks’ opponents shot just 123-for-355 (34.6%) on wide-open 3-pointers, the fifth lowest playoff mark among the 51 teams whose opponents attempted at least 200 wide-open 3s in the 13 seasons of tracking data.
The Spurs shot 47-for-117 (40.1%) on wide-open 3s in the Finals. But over the previous two rounds, the Philadelphia 76ers (14-for-55, 25.5%) and Cleveland Cavaliers (24-for-74, 32.4%) combined to shoot 29.5% on wide-open 3s against the Knicks.
The Knicks also benefitted from…
- Not having to play the Boston Celtics (top five on both ends of the floor) or Detroit Pistons (outscored them by 28 points per game over their three regular-season meetings on their road to the Finals).
- Their opponents shooting just 4-for-19 (21%) on clutch three pointers and just 10-for-21 (48%) on clutch free throws as they went 6-3 in games that were within five points in the last five minutes.
- A brutal turnover (and foul) from Victor Wembanyama in Game 2 of the Finals and a brutal decision from De’Aaron Fox in Game 4.
Call it luck or call it magic. It’s an ingredient in every championship recipe.
5. Living late in the clock
345-166 — Over the course of the playoffs, the Knicks scored 345 points (on shots from the field) in the last six seconds of the shot clock. Their opponents scored 166.
So when it came to late-clock scoring, the Knicks more than doubled up their opponents. They also drew 17 more fouls (49-32) than their opponents in the last six seconds of the clock.
Part of that is just the Knicks playing much slower than their opponents. Their 16.1 seconds per possession was the highest average in the playoffs, while their opponents’ rate (14.3 seconds per possession) was the lowest opponent mark.
But, while no team wants to play late in the clock so often, it’s beneficial to be comfortable with the clock winding down. In the playoffs, opponents are more likely to take away your primary actions, so you need to be able to make something out of nothing with little time to work with. And no player may be more comfortable doing just that than Jalen Brunson, who led these playoffs with 100 buckets in the last six seconds of the shot clock.
But while Brunson is the primary creator, he’s got help when it comes to making late-clock shots. Over the last two years (regular season and playoffs combined), there have been 46 players with at least 300 field goal attempts in the last six seconds of the shot clock. Among those 46 players, Brunson (51.6%), Bridges (51.3%), Anunoby (50.2%), Towns (50.0%) and Josh Hart (47.7%) rank second, third, fourth, fifth and ninth in late-clock effective field goal percentage.
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John Schuhmann has covered the NBA for more than 20 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Bluesky.
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