Game 1 of the streak · G5 vs. Hawks
Apr 29, 2026 · Knicks 126, Hawks 97
+29
Key stats: Jalen Brunson 27 PTS, 8 AST; Karl-Anthony Towns 22 PTS, 12 REB.
Context: New York took a 3-2 series lead and set the tone for what followed.
119 Points of Destruction: The Knicks' Historic Three-Game Wrecking Ball
Game 5 vs. Hawks: 29-point win. Game 6 vs. Hawks: 51-point win. Game 1 vs. 76ers: 39-point win. Combined: 119 points — the largest three-game playoff margin in NBA history. The first team EVER to win three straight playoff games by 25+ points. This is what total annihilation looks like.
Three Games of History
Game 2 of the streak · G6 vs. Hawks
May 1, 2026 · Knicks 140, Hawks 89
+51
Key stats: OG Anunoby 29 PTS in 27 MIN (26 in the first half alone); Karl-Anthony Towns triple-double; Mikal Bridges 18 PTS.
Context: Largest playoff win in Knicks franchise history. 51-point margin tied for 6th-largest in NBA playoff history. 47-point halftime lead — largest in NBA playoff history. Led by as many as 61. Franchise playoff scoring high (140). Eliminated Atlanta to reach the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Game 3 of the streak · G1 vs. 76ers
May 5, 2026 · Knicks 137, 76ers 98
+39
Key stats: Jalen Brunson 35 PTS (27 in the first half); Knicks shot 63% as a team.
Context: Brunson poured in 27 of his 35 before halftime. The Knicks shot 63% from the field and led by as many as 40. Philadelphia never found footing after the opening quarter.
Milestone Progress
First team ever to win three straight playoff games by 25+ points
NBA history
The Knicks are the first team in NBA history to win three consecutive playoff games by 25 points or more. No team — not the 1996 Bulls, not the 2017 Warriors, not the 1986 Celtics — had done it before.
The streak: +29 vs. Hawks (G5), +51 vs. Hawks (G6), +39 vs. 76ers (G1).
The NBA has staged the playoffs since 1947. In 79 years of postseason basketball, nobody had strung together three such blowouts — until this Knicks run.
119-point combined margin — largest three-game playoff stretch
119-point record
New York's +119 point differential over those three games is the largest three-game playoff margin in NBA history.
Previous mark: The 2025 Cleveland Cavaliers held the prior high at +101 over three games against the Miami Heat.
Game-by-game: +29 (G5 vs ATL) + +51 (G6 vs ATL) + +39 (G1 vs PHI) = +119.
Average margin: +39.7 points per game across the stretch.
51-point win — largest playoff victory in Knicks franchise history
Franchise record
The 140-89 Game 6 win in Atlanta was the largest playoff victory in New York Knicks franchise history.
The 51-point margin tied for 6th-largest in NBA playoff history (all rounds, all eras).
Halftime: A 47-point lead at the break — the largest halftime lead in NBA playoff history.
Standouts: OG Anunoby 29 points in 27 minutes, including 26 in the first half. Karl-Anthony Towns posted his second triple-double of the series. New York led by as many as 61 — an elimination game that ended Atlanta's season in historic fashion.
Most points scored in a Knicks playoff game (140)
Most points ever
The 140 points against Atlanta in Game 6 are the most the Knicks have ever scored in a single playoff game.
The franchise has played postseason basketball since 1947. Across 79 years of Knicks playoff history, this explosion stands as the scoring high-water mark.
63% team shooting in Game 1 vs. 76ers
63% clinic
The Knicks shot 63% from the field as a team in the Game 1 demolition of Philadelphia.
The 76ers arrived off a grueling seven-game series with Boston. New York was rested and relentless — producing one of the most efficient offensive playoff performances of the 2026 postseason.
Brunson: 27 first-half points — outscoring Philadelphia's entire starting lineup before the break.
Five of six playoff wins by double digits
Double-digit dominance
The Knicks have won 5 of their 6 playoff games by double-digit margins.
2026 playoff run (through listed games):
G1 vs ATL: W 113-102 (+11) · G2 vs ATL: L 106-107 (-1) · G3 vs ATL: L 108-109 (-1) · G4 vs ATL: W 114-98 (+16) · G5 vs ATL: W 126-97 (+29) · G6 vs ATL: W 140-89 (+51) · G1 vs PHI: W 137-98 (+39) · G2 vs PHI: W 108-102 (+6) · G3 vs PHI: W 108-94 (+14)
Average win margin (when New York wins): +24.3 points per victory.
When the Knicks win, they tend to win going away — blowouts have defined this postseason identity.
Elite offense + elite defense — the complete team
Two-way juggernaut
Offensive rating: 122.0 — 2nd in the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
Defensive rating: 103.9 — 2nd in the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
Net rating: +18.1 — among the strongest playoff net ratings in recent memory.
Since Jan 21: New York posted the league's 2nd-best defensive rating down the stretch.
Playoff defense: Opponents held under 100 points in 5 of 9 playoff games.
KAT impact: With Karl-Anthony Towns on the floor in the playoffs, the Knicks carry a 104.2 defensive rating — 10.6 points per 100 possessions stingier than the regular season (114.8).
How the Knicks Became a Playoff Wrecking Ball
- The 2026 New York Knicks are doing something no team in NBA history has done: stacking 25+ point playoff victories, night after night after night.
- In Game 5 against Atlanta, Jalen Brunson dropped 27 points and the Knicks won by 29 — a statement that the Hawks' season was living on borrowed time.
- In Game 6 on the road, the Knicks delivered the most devastating postseason beatdown in franchise history: a 47-point halftime lead (an NBA playoff record), a 51-point final margin (tied for 6th-largest in playoff history), and 140 points (a Knicks playoff high). Atlanta was eliminated in humiliating fashion.
- In Game 1 against Philadelphia, the foot never left the gas. Brunson erupted for 27 first-half points; the team shot 63%; the final was 137-98 — a 39-point rout of a 76ers club that had just survived seven games against Boston.
- The math: three games, three wins, +119 in the margin column. No team in 79 years of NBA playoffs has authored a more dominant three-game stretch.
- New York has held opponents under 100 in 5 of 9 playoff games. Defensive rating 103.9 ranks 2nd; offensive rating 122.0 also ranks 2nd. This is a complete, two-way machine.
- Karl-Anthony Towns' defensive leap matters: the Knicks' defensive rating with him on the floor in the playoffs is 10.6 points per 100 better than the regular season.
- "We've got to be the aggressor," Brunson said after Game 3 in Philadelphia. The Knicks have lived that mantra — and the record books are bending because of it.
The Three-Game Scoring Margin Chart
What They're Saying
"We've got to be the aggressor."
— Jalen Brunson
"We're just trying to play our brand of basketball. When we do that, we feel like we can beat anyone."
— Karl-Anthony Towns
Can Anybody Stop This?
- Series: Knicks lead 76ers 3-0. Game 4 on Sunday in Philadelphia. One win from the Eastern Conference Finals.
- The Knicks are 9-2 in their last 11 playoff games dating back to 2025.
- A sweep would push New York to 8-2 in the 2026 playoffs, marching into the Conference Finals with a shot at the franchise's first NBA Finals since 1999.
- The Knicks rank 2nd on offense and 2nd on defense in the playoffs — a rare double that only championship-caliber teams such as the 2017 Warriors and 1996 Bulls have paired with titles.
- "We're not done yet," Brunson said. "Anything can happen in this series, so we've just got to be locked in."
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