NBA Recognizes Historic Knicks Accomplishment Before NBA Finals

The New York Knicks opened their 2026 NBA postseason run with 1-2 series deficit against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. But since then, Mike Brown’s squad has notched 11 consecutive victories - including a second-round sweep over the Philadelphia 76ers and an Eastern Conference Finals sweep over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Knicks not only won these games - they’ve dominated.

With Monday night’s 130-93 victory over the Cavaliers in Game 4, the Knicks secured a +271 playoff point differential heading into the NBA Finals.

“That is the highest point differential by any team in a single postseason before playing in the NBA Finals. The previous high was +196 by the 2017 Warriors,” the NBA announced on Tuesday.

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The Knicks have been particularly good in closeout games. They beat the Hawks by 51 in Game 6, the 76ers by 30 in Game 4 and the Cavaliers by 37 on Monday night.

New York look to continue this positive momentum into the NBA Finals, where the team will make its first appearance since 1999. They’ll face off against the winner of the Western Conference Finals series between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, which is knotted at 2-2 heading into Tuesday night’s Game 5 matchup.

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Game 5 will tipoff at 8:30 p.m. ET from Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center.

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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 4:56 PM.