With a 105-95 victory against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals on Wednesday night, the New York Knicks logged their 12th consecutive win in the playoffs.
Just for fun, here are a dozen impressive numbers from the victory streak …
12
The Knicks’ 12-game win streak has tied the 1999 Spurs for the second-longest in NBA playoff history. Only the 2017 Golden State Warriors won more playoff games straight.
272
The Knicks have outscored their opponents by 272 points over their 12-game win streak. That isn’t just the best 12-game streak in playoff history. It’s the best 12-game streak ever.
40.3%
The Knicks have shot 40.3% as a team on 402 attempts from 3-point range during their 12-game win streak. Only four teams in NBA history have attempted 400 or more 3-pointers and made better than 40% of them over any 12-game playoff span: last year’s Indiana Pacers, the 2021 Los Angeles Clippers, 2017 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2016 Cavaliers.
111
The Knicks have grabbed 111 more rebounds than their opponents during their 12-game win streak. Only four other teams in history (all champs) reached the NBA Finals while out-rebounding opponents by 111 or more rebounds in any 12-game stretch: the 1996 Chicago Bulls, 1980 Los Angeles Lakers, 1979 Seattle SuperSonics and 1976 Boston Celtics.
85
The Knicks have logged 85 more assists than their opponents over the 12-game win streak. Only a handful of teams in playoff history have recorded so many more assists than their opponents over any 12-game span, and you should recognize the engines of all of them: Tyrese Haliburton’s Indiana Pacers (2024-25), Stephen Curry’s Warriors (2017), Steve Nash’s Phoenix Suns (2006), Kobe Bryant’s Lakers (2001), John Stockton’s Utah Jazz (1996, 1998), Michael Jordan’s Bulls (1991, 1996-97) and Larry Bird’s Celtics (1986).
6.3
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 6.3 assists per game during the 12-game win streak. At no point in his career, regular season or playoffs, has he done that before.
7
As part of their 12-game win streak, the Knicks have won seven consecutive games on the road. Only the championship-winning 2001 Lakers won more road games in a row (8).
Likewise, the Knicks are the second team in NBA history to record seven straight double-digit playoff victories, joining the ’09 Cavs, who won a record eight straight playoff routs.
124.6
The Knicks own a 124.6 offensive rating over their 12-game win streak, which would rank as the greatest offense in NBA history if averaged across a full 82-game regular season. Only four other times in NBA history has a team won 12 straight games with an offensive rating so high (all in the regular season): this year’s Denver Nuggets, last year’s Cavaliers, last year’s championship-winning Oklahoma City Thunder and the 2022-23 Brooklyn Nets.
101.5
The Knicks own a 101.5 defensive rating over their 12-game win streak, the best of any team in that span. The Spurs are second (106.7). The last team to put together a 12-game postseason stretch of defense this good: the 2019 Toronto Raptors, who won the title.
4
The Knicks have won four games by 30 or more points during their 12-game win streak. Only one other team in NBA history — last year’s Thunder, who of course won the championship — has won four games by 30 or more points in any one single postseason.
118
The Knicks have outscored their opponents by a combined 118 points in their three close-out games of this postseason, defeating the Atlanta Hawks in Game 6, 140-89, the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 4, 144-114, and the Cavs in Game 4, 130-93. It is, needless to say, the most dominant stretch of close-out victories by any team in a single postseason.
26.9
Knicks star Jalen Brunson, the 2026 Eastern Conference finals MVP, is averaging 26.9 points (49/33/86 shooting splits), 6.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds a game over his team’s 12-game win streak. How is everyone else in New York’s rotation performing on this stretch?
(Hint: pretty good!)
Knicks averages over their 12-game win streak.
(Ben Rohrbach)
The Knicks will put their win streak on the line in Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals on Friday.
Read the full article here
