Following their Game 3 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, these Knicks have now won 10 playoff games by 10 points or more. If doing this before reaching the NBA Finals, or even getting out of the conference finals, seems positively insane, that’s because it is positively insane.
It has only been done twice, most recently by the 2017 Kevin Durant-era Golden State Warriors. Before them, the 2013 Big Three-era Miami Heat did the same. And now, the Knicks have done it.
You might notice that the two squads before them have something in common, too: They each went on to win the NBA title.
This Knicks team is worth believing in
Nobody should get over their skis just yet. The Knicks have another game to win before clinching their first NBA Finals berth since 1999, and then must bag another four victories from there.
Not only that, but those additional four victories will need to come at the expense of an indomitable force. Either New York runs into a San Antonio Spurs squad spearheaded by a 7’4” alien, or it collides with the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who remain terrifying even when they’re without Jalen Williams, their second-best player.
Still, what we are watching now doesn’t happen by accident. Nor is it the byproduct of opponent quality.
The Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Cavs all came into their series against the Knicks feeling damn good about themselves. With the exception of two early hiccups against Atlanta, New York has upended these good vibes, en route to total, utter, complete, and historical domination.
You don’t break margin-of-victory records with each passing game without being a juggernaut. You don’t pick up 10 consecutive victories in a single postseason without being a championship-caliber force.
Run the graphic pic.twitter.com/k5yNPqdkNi
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) May 24, 2026
You don’t make adjustment after adjustment, from reimagining Karl-Anthony Towns’ offensive role to changing up your bench rotation based on matchups and game-by-game needs without having the depth and versatility to do so. Your superstar doesn’t repeatedly adapt and sacrifice, and still, amid the changes, remain a superstar without being best-player-on-a-title-winner material
Most of all, you definitely don’t power through the calls for a midseason teardown, and emerge on the other side, not only better than ever, but more together than ever, unless you have that championship it factor.
There’s just something about these Knicks
So much about this Knicks team, from the good to the bad to the amazing, can be quantified. Just as much about them arguably can’t be. Their ability to rattle off 10 double-digit victories before exiting the conference finals is a matter of both.
Statistically speaking, it shoehorns them into the company of the 2017 Warriors and 2013 Heat, two of the all-time-great playoff squads, the former of which represented the pinnacle of a dynasty.
Emotionally speaking, this feat buoys conviction in these Knicks—not just in their capacity to finish off the Cavs without any muss or fuss, but in their chances of winning the whole damn thing, regardless of who awaits, or how much it defies logic and consensus.
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