The NBA Finals, set to commence on June 3, will introduce a challenge that the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Cleveland Cavaliers recently failed to provide: halting the New York Knicks’ relentless winning momentum. For at least a few days, the schedule will prevent the Knicks from adding another victory.
The Knicks are not just heading to the NBA Finals; they are doing so on a tear that rivals some of the greatest runs in league history. New York completed a four-game sweep of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday night, decisively defeating the Cavaliers 130-93. This victory extended their remarkable winning streak to 11 games.
Knicks coach Mike Brown was quick to credit his players, stating, “They’re just great, great human beings and they’re obviously fantastic basketball players.”
New York’s path to the Finals included a six-game series win against the Hawks in Round 1, followed by a clean sweep of Philadelphia in Round 2, and then another sweep against Cleveland for the Eastern Conference title.
The Knicks now await their opponent from the Western Conference, which will be either Oklahoma City or San Antonio. The Western Conference champion won’t be crowned until Thursday at the earliest, and the victor of that Thunder-Spurs series will host the Knicks for Game 1 of the NBA Finals next week.
**An 11-Game Streak Entering the Finals**
Having not suffered a loss since April 23 (remarkably, they trailed the Hawks 2-1 in their first-round series after two consecutive one-point defeats), the Knicks join an elite group of teams entering the championship round with such an impressive winning streak.
Only three other teams have achieved a postseason winning streak of at least 11 games heading into the NBA Finals: the Los Angeles Lakers in 1989, the Lakers again in 2001, and the Golden State Warriors in 2017.
The 1989 Lakers went 11-0 through the first three rounds (when the first round was a best-of-five series) before being swept by Detroit in the Finals. The 2001 Lakers also started 11-0 in the first three rounds, then lost Game 1 of the Finals to Philadelphia, but proceeded to sweep the rest of the series en route to the championship.
Golden State, in 2017, achieved a 12-0 record in Rounds 1-3. They then won the first three games of the Finals against Cleveland, extending their playoff record to 15-0, before dropping Game 4 and ultimately securing the title in Game 5.
**The Largest Point Differential in an 11-Game Span**
The Knicks aren’t just winning; they are winning by significant margins. In their current 11-game winning streak, the Knicks have outscored their opponents by a staggering 262 points. This marks the most dominant 11-game span in NBA history, encompassing both regular season and playoff games.
To put this into perspective, the Boston Celtics outscored teams by 243 points over an 11-game stretch in 2024. The Milwaukee Bucks, during their 1970-71 season, had 11-game spans where they outscored opponents by 230, 231, and 236 points (with some overlap between these streaks).
Both those Celtics and Bucks teams ultimately went on to win NBA championships in their respective seasons.
This season, the Knicks’ average point differential across their pre-Finals playoff rounds stands at 19.4 points per game. The previous record for the highest point differential in all rounds combined before the championship series was 16.3 points per game, set by Golden State in 2017.
**Most Dominant Playoff Road Performance Ever?**
The Knicks have achieved an unparalleled feat by winning six consecutive road playoff games by double-digit margins. No other team in NBA history has ever accomplished such a streak in the postseason.
These road victories have been won by an astonishing combined total of 161 points.
The previous record for consecutive double-digit road playoff wins was five, achieved twice: by Miami in 2013 (by a combined 75 points) and by Golden State in 2017 (by a combined 88 points). Both of those teams also went on to win NBA titles in those seasons.
