Brief
Knicks set record‑breaking stats in championship‑ending playoff run
The Knicks posted a 16‑3 playoff record, 13 straight wins and a 45‑point Finals game as they ended a five‑decade title drought.
By Felo News Desk · Published
The New York Knicks concluded a historic playoff run that ended a 53‑year championship drought, posting a series of record‑setting statistics, the New York Post reported.
The team finished the postseason with a 16‑3 record, the best in franchise history, surpassing the 12‑7 mark set in 1969‑70 and the 12‑5 record in 1972‑73. They logged 13 consecutive playoff wins, just two shy of the NBA record, with victories over the Atlanta Hawks (three), Philadelphia 76ers (four), Cleveland Cavaliers (four) and San Antonio Spurs (two).
Guard Jalen Brunson scored 45 points in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, accounting for 47.8% of the Knicks’ total points in the clinching game. Forward Og Anunoby contributed a decisive tip‑in with 1.2 seconds left in Game 4, a play described as perhaps the most important shot in Knicks history.
Statistical highlights included Karl‑Anthony Towns recording two triple‑doubles in the Hawks series – the first Knick ever to achieve that in a single playoff series – and OG Anunoby improving his scoring average from 16.7 to 20.1 points per game, while his field‑goal percentage rose from 48.4% to 56.1% and his three‑point percentage from 38.6% to 48.9% between the regular season and the playoffs.
Landry Shamet shot 23‑of‑34 from three‑point range across eight games, and the Knicks hit 25 three‑pointers in the clinching Game 4 against the 76ers, tying an NBA playoff record. Josh Hart posted a career‑high 26 points in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, sinking five threes.
The Knicks also set a Finals viewership record, averaging 20.6 million viewers per game – the highest total in 28 years since Michael Jordan’s 1998 Bulls.
Key facts
- Knicks finished the playoffs with a 16‑3 record, the best in franchise history. (nypost.com)
- Jalen Brunson scored 45 points in the Game 5 Finals clincher, 47.8% of the team's total. (nypost.com)
- The team logged 13 straight playoff wins, two short of the NBA record. (nypost.com)
- Karl‑Anthony Towns recorded two triple‑doubles in the Hawks series, a first for a Knick. (nypost.com)
- Finals games averaged 20.6 million viewers, the highest since 1998. (nypost.com)
Sources
- [1] nypost.com — originally reported as “The numbers that defined Knicks’ magical playoff run to end 53-year championship drought”
