The red-hot New York Knicks won their ninth consecutive game on Thursday, becoming just the 13th team to maintain such a playoff winning streak.
Of those 12 previous teams, seven won the NBA championship.
As such, the Knicks have a 58% chance of ending their 53-year title drought this year.
Of the 12 teams that did before them, seven won the title.
The Knicks have crushed opponents by an average margin of 23.6 points during their nine-game winning streak, while shooting 53.6% from the floor and 41% from three.
Knicks NBA Championship Chances
The 12 previous teams to win nine or more consecutive playoff games:
- 1981-92 Los Angeles Lakers (nine straight wins) — Won NBA Finals
- 1995-96 Chicago Bulls (nine straight wins) — Won NBA Finals
- 1999-00 San Antonio Spurs (nine straight wins) — Won NBA Finals
- 2020-21 Phoenix Suns (nine straight wins) — Lost in NBA Finals
- 2002-03 New Jersey Nets (10 straight wins) — Lost in NBA Finals
- 2011-12 San Antonio Spurs (10 straight wins) — Lost in West Finals
- 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers (10 straight wins) — Won NBA Finals
- 2016-17 Cleveland Cavaliers (10 straight wins) — Lost in NBA Finals
- 2023-24 Boston Celtics (10 straight wins) — Won NBA Finals
- 2001-02 Los Angeles Lakers (11 straight wins) — Won NBA Finals
- 1988-89 Los Angeles Lakers (11 straight wins) — Lost NBA Finals
- 2016-17 Golden State Warriors (15 straight wins) — Won NBA Finals
As seen above, 3/4 teams that won nine straight captured the title, save for Chris Paul’s Suns, who fell to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks in 2021.
Knicks On the Verge
The Knicks are two wins away from returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000, the year when Tim Duncan and the Spurs captured their first title. Incidentally, the Spurs won nine straight games that year en route to the title.
Jalen Brunson and Co. prevailed with a 109-3 win over the Cleveland Cavaliesr in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday. Brunson had his lowest points production in the ongoing playoffs, but finished with a playoff career-high 14 assists. The southpaw had to alter his game as the Cavs picked up the defensive pressure on him, routinely blitzing him the second he crossed half-court.
Knicks head coach Mike Brown praised Brunson for assessing the situation and altering his game, allowing his teammates to thrive. Josh Hart finished with a playoff-high 26 points while taking 21 shots, as Brunson took a backseat and turned into a point guard.
“As an MVP candidate, Jalen Brunson’s job is to make the game easier for his teammates. That’s what he did,” Brown said of Brunson.
Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson also had big praise for Brunson.
“That’s what great players do, right? They read the game, and the game dictated that” Atkinson said after his team fell to a 2-0 hole in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Knicks vs Cavaliers Game 3 tips off at 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Knicks open as 1.5-point favorites despite playing on the road — a marker of their current dominance.
Knicks Get More Great News After Game 2 Win vs Cavaliers