{"id":665156,"date":"2026-05-12T03:06:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T03:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/665156\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T03:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T03:06:09","slug":"its-a-chemistry-thing-behind-the-knicks-staggering-playoff-stretch-that-has-new-york-dreaming-big","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/665156\/","title":{"rendered":"‘It’s a chemistry thing:’ Behind the Knicks’ staggering playoff stretch that has New York dreaming big"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nick Nurse understood the disadvantage his Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> were facing, having just one day off between completing a shocking 3-1 comeback with an emotional Game 7 win in Boston<\/a> on a Saturday night and tipping off the second round at Madison Square Garden on a Monday. All this considered, though, he didn\u2019t really mind the quick turnaround.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always said, even when I was coaching in the minors, that when your team’s winning, you just want to keep the games coming,\u201d Nurse said before Game 1. \u201cYou don’t want any space between them. Just keep them coming. Let’s get to the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That, um, didn\u2019t work out for the Sixers, but you\u2019d certainly understand if Mike Brown was feeling that way at the start of the week. Why the hell would you want to take any time off when you\u2019ve been playing as well as the New York Knicks<\/a> have over the last two weeks?<\/p>\n

Alas, the Knicks now find themselves with a week to kill, because they just spent a week killing Philadelphia<\/a>. Four games, four wins, by a combined 89 points \u2014 one of the most dominant offensive postseason performances of the last 30 years<\/a>, in which New York<\/a> hunted Joel Embiid<\/a> on one end of the court, smothered Tyrese Maxey<\/a> on the other, and concluded the curbstomping with a Mother\u2019s Day maiming that was over, for all intents and purposes, in about four and a half minutes.<\/p>\n

New York\u2019s nuking of the Sixers continued a run that\u2019s seen Brown\u2019s club rip off seven straight victories since CJ McCollum put them in a 2-1 hole<\/a> \u2014 a moment of adversity that happened 19 days and roughly 9 million lifetimes ago \u2014 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for a second consecutive spring. The vibes felt immaculate at this point last May<\/a>, too, with New York having just vanquished a Boston squad that had its number throughout the regular season; when they beat the Celtics<\/a>, the Knicks had reached a level that I\u2019m not sure anybody outside 4 Penn Plaza believed they could reach.<\/p>\n

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The way the Knicks have played over these past seven games, though? It\u2019s a level that I\u2019m not sure any sentient being, in any far-flung fork of the multiverse, could\u2019ve believed they\u2019d reach. It\u2019s Leon Rose\u2019s wildest fever dreams, realized.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur guys have definitely tried to take it to another level with their focus on the details, and their energy and effort level, and that\u2019s a lot of the reason why we\u2019re playing pretty good basketball,\u201d Brown said<\/a> after finishing off the sweep of the Sixers. \u201cWhen you talk about the elite and the great in any business \u2014 I don\u2019t care what business that you\u2019re in \u2014 there\u2019s one word that stands out, and it\u2019s the word consistency. The elite do it every frickin\u2019 play, even if it gets boring or monotonous. And that\u2019s what we have to figure out, to see if we can do. If we can do it every play, then we have a chance to be elite.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Some of this, yes, is the result of an absolutely bonkers level of shot-making. Through 10 games, the Knicks are shooting 58.5% on 2-pointers and \u2014 after making a playoff-record-tying 25 3-pointers on Philly in Game 4<\/a> \u2014 40.8% from 3-point land as a team. That\u2019s good for a 59.6% effective field goal percentage (which accounts for 3-pointers being worth more than 2-pointers) and a 63% true shooting percentage (which factors in 2-point, 3-point and free-throw accuracy) \u2014 both of which not only lead the 2026 postseason<\/a>, but are on pace to be the highest eFG%<\/a> and TS%<\/a> marks in NBA playoff history.<\/p>\n

OG Anunoby<\/a>, Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a> and Mikal Bridges<\/a> are all shooting either just under or just over 60% from the field. Anunoby, Towns, Jalen Brunson<\/a>, Miles McBride<\/a>, Landry Shamet<\/a> and Jose Alvarado<\/a> are all over 40% from deep (and, after his dreadful start to the postseason, so is Bridges over the last seven games<\/a>). Non-Mitchell Robinson Knicks are shooting 81% from the free throw line; hell, even Mitch went 6-for-12 from the stripe over Games 3 and 4 in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

Sure, that level of net-scorching might be unsustainable. It\u2019s worth noting, though, that the Knicks aren\u2019t just the beneficiaries of a random magnet-ball: They lead the playoff field in shot quality, according to PBP Stats<\/a>, and are coming off a regular season that saw them finish fifth in the NBA in midrange shooting accuracy and fifth in 3-point shooting accuracy<\/a>. The Knicks outperformed their shot diet throughout the regular season, with only the Nuggets<\/a>, Lakers, Celtics and Bucks<\/a> ranking higher in points per shot over expectation, according to Synergy\u2019s tracking; this, to some degree, is the benefit of building a roster on which everybody besides reserve centers Robinson<\/a>, Ariel Hukporti<\/a> and Jeremy Sochan<\/a> \u2014 and, at times, Josh Hart<\/a> (though he went 4-for-6 from deep in Sunday\u2019s Game 4) \u2014 is a reliable threat from the outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuys were sacrificing good shots for better shots,\u201d Hart said<\/a> after Game 4 on Sunday. \u201cWhen you do that, the ball has energy, and we\u2019re able to knock down shots. Playing a style like that is fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Knicks have played that style more frequently and capably in these playoffs, averaging more passes<\/a>, assists<\/a>, secondary or \u201chockey\u201d assists<\/a>, drives<\/a> and catch-and-shoot 3-pointers<\/a> per game in Brown\u2019s first postseason on the bench than they did last spring under Tom Thibodeau. They\u2019re covering more ground, and doing it faster<\/a>; they\u2019re getting out in transition more frequently<\/a>, scoring more points on fast breaks<\/a> and off of turnovers<\/a>; they\u2019re creating<\/a> and converting<\/a> way more looks at the basket and from 3-point range.<\/p>\n

New York\u2019s offense finished fifth in the NBA in points scored per possession last season<\/a>, but often felt like it was grinding its gears in pursuit of that perch, arriving there largely by dint of sheer talent \u2014 Brunson\u2019s individual shot creation, Towns\u2019 overwhelming gravity and touch \u2014 and punishing offensive rebounding. The same felt true at times this season, as Brown worked not only to institute more ball and player movement, but perhaps more importantly, to get a core that had experienced a lot of success to buy into the notion that, by making certain shifts and pushing certain buttons, it could experience even more. What the Knicks have done through two rounds \u2014 nearly 129 points per 100 possessions<\/a>, a historically elite performance<\/a> \u2014 feels like a team that has finally understood how to become more than the sum of its parts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like in that Atlanta<\/a> series, we really turned it on,\u201d said<\/a> McBride, who went 7-for-9 from deep in the Game 4 demolition of Philadelphia. \u201cIt started with our coaching staff putting us in the right position, and then our leaders, our starting five getting out there and executing.\u201d<\/p>\n

That leadership starts with Brunson and Towns, both of whom have made significant changes to their games over the past two weeks that have helped New York\u2019s offense reach the stratosphere.<\/p>\n

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Brunson has had to get comfortable working off the ball more frequently than he has since his days in Dallas<\/a>, tweaking his shot profile \u2014 a little less pick-and-roll and isolation operating, a little more setting off-ball screens, curling off dribble handoffs and setting up as a spot-up shooter \u2014 and just generally loosening his hold on the reins of the offense a bit more.<\/p>\n

Through the end of Game 3 in Atlanta, Brunson had the ball in his hands for 10 minutes per game<\/a> in the playoffs, finishing nearly 32% of New York\u2019s offensive possessions<\/a> with a shot attempt, foul drawn or turnover committed. During this seven-game winning streak, that average time of possession is down by more than two minutes a night<\/a>, and his usage rate has dropped by more than a percentage point<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing about [Jalen], he\u2019s a great screen-setter,\u201d Brown told reporters<\/a> after Game 4 against Atlanta. \u201cHe has a really good change of pace where he slips and stuff like that, which can cause confusion. So Jalen is about as coachable as they come […] Jalen is right up there with the Steph<\/a> Currys of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Less has proven to be more for the All-NBA point guard, who\u2019s averaging 27.3 points and 6.1 assists per game over the last seven outings<\/a> on 52\/43\/90 shooting splits, despite playing fewer minutes per night \u2014 and who has seen the share of his buckets that have been assisted by a teammate increase by more than 8%<\/a>, thanks to New York\u2019s other All-NBA performer, who has transformed into an all-time quarterback:<\/p>\n

Over the last two postseasons, Towns totaled 66 assists in 1,161 minutes over 34 total games. Through two rounds in the 2026 NBA playoffs, he has \u2026 66 assists, racked up in 285 minutes, over just 10 games. Towns delivered 32 assists to Brunson during the regular season<\/a>, according to PBP Stats; he\u2019s already got 15 dimes on Brunson buckets in this playoff run<\/a>. Towns had seven games with six or more assists over the course of the regular season<\/a>; he has seven in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

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The last seven. As in, every game of the Knicks\u2019 current postseason winning streak, which began in Game 4 in Atlanta, when Brown opted to redirect the offense through Towns in the high post \u2014 a decision that continues to unlock seemingly endless possibilities for this Knicks attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just love that I get to get my teammates involved, and I get the chance to quarterback the offense and put them in positions that I feel they could succeed, and they\u2019ve obliged,\u201d Towns said after the Knicks\u2019 Game 2 win over the Sixers. \u201cLike I said before, they’re trusting me more with the ball right now, and I just want to continue to repay their trust with the right plays and making the right decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arguably just as important? Towns continues to make the right plays and right decisions on the defensive end<\/a>, too, averaging more than four total steals, blocks and deflections per game in the postseason while posting the second-highest defensive rebounding rate<\/a> of any player still active, behind only Victor Wembanyama<\/a>. He\u2019ll never be an elite rim protector, and Brunson will never be a top-flight point-of-attack stopper. But in spite of the conventional wisdom that said the Knicks couldn\u2019t field a contending-class defense with them as vulnerable variables in the overall equation, they now rank fourth in the NBA in points allowed per possession since Christmas<\/a>, behind only the Pistons, Thunder and Spurs. (They\u2019re also fourth in offensive efficiency in that span<\/a> \u2014 the only team in the NBA in the top five on both ends over that lengthy stretch.)<\/p>\n

This unreal surge has been built on making the right decisions \u2014 the ones KAT makes with the ball up top, that Brunson makes as he decides to go set another flex screen in the corner, that Knicks defenders make as they rotate on a string behind the play, and what increasingly feels like damn near every bet that Rose\u2019s front office has made paying off.<\/p>\n

Anunoby played absolutely out of his mind through the first eight games of the 2026 postseason, looking like he was worth every cent of the $212.5 million the Knicks paid to retain him in the summer of 2024<\/a> before straining his right hamstring<\/a> late in Game 2 against the Sixers and missing Games 3 and 4. (The one exception to the \u201cwhen your team’s winning, you just want to keep the games coming\u201d rule: when sweeping Round 2 gets your best two-way player an extra week of recovery ahead of Round 3.)<\/p>\n

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By Game 3 against the Hawks<\/a>, Brown was fielding questions about whether or not he\u2019d have to consider benching Bridges, who\u2019d all but disappeared from New York\u2019s offense and was struggling to stick with McCollum. Now, after getting untracked in the Knicks\u2019 record-setting blowout Game 6 win in Atlanta, and spending the last four games averaging 18-4-4 on 64% shooting while the primary role in limiting an All-NBA guard in Maxey, Bridges once again looks like precisely the connect-all-the-dots wing piece that Rose was willing to fork over all them picks to procure.<\/p>\n

The starters have all shouldered reduced workloads, both in terms of total minutes (thanks to playing two fewer games than last spring through two rounds, with a couple of full fourth quarters off) and in minutes per game, because Brown has used the bench that Rose gave him. Whether holdovers McBride, Robinson and Shamet, trade-deadline addition Alvarado, and offseason signing Jordan Clarkson<\/a> \u2014 who has completely changed his game over the course of the season, going from a shoot-first-second-and-third microwave gunner into a dirty-work enthusiast making his presence felt with physical perimeter defense and relentless offensive rebounding \u2014 are playing this well because Brown trusted them, or Brown is trusting them because they\u2019ve shown they can play this well, is the kind of chicken-or-egg question that can be difficult to definitely answer. What matters is that he has gone to the bench, earlier and more often, and has been rewarded with the kind of consistent contributions that last year\u2019s Knicks didn\u2019t find until they were already behind the 8-ball in the conference finals. The 2025 Eastern Conference finals was the closest the Knicks had come to playing for a championship since 1999, and losing it cost Thibodeau his job. That meant Brown came to the Garden with what seemed like a pretty clear means of measuring success, one made explicit by owner James Dolan midway through the campaign: \u201cWe should get to the Finals, and we should win the Finals.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Brown, for his part, hasn\u2019t coached like a man feeling the heat of those elevated expectations. Or, at least, like one used to applying that heat himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have talked about a mandate,\u201d Brown said<\/a> at practice between Games 1 and 2 against Philly. \u201cI\u2019m coaching to win. It doesn\u2019t matter what others say. I\u2019m disappointed if we\u2019re not in the Finals and having a chance to win it. Been fortunate, blessed, lucky to be in six different Finals with three different teams, and fortunate, blessed, lucky to be a part of four championships. It\u2019s the best feeling in the world, and I know that\u2019s what I do it for.\u201d<\/p>\n

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What Brown has done thus far \u2014 in getting his stars to buy in, in continuing to trust Bridges through his ups and downs, in empowering his bench, in increasing the number of options with which the Knicks can play on both ends of the floor, and in getting this roster to mid-May with an opportunity to enter the conference finals more or less healthy (depending on the status of Anunoby\u2019s hamstring) \u2014 is something close to the best-case scenario that Rose and Co. were hoping for when they made the coaching change last summer.<\/p>\n

The Knicks are back on the precipice \u2014 four wins away from the Finals, eight wins away from the title \u2014 and they\u2019ve arrived playing the best basketball this franchise has seen in more than half a century. That doesn\u2019t mean it will continue unabated; that doesn\u2019t mean whichever opponent advances to face them in the next round won\u2019t pose a new set of challenges; that doesn\u2019t mean that the weight of the universe doesn\u2019t rest on the recovery of Anunoby\u2019s hamstring. But to have come through what Brunson called a \u201crollercoaster\u201d ride of a season to get back to this point, this way? It does mean something.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think outside of the New York Knicks organization, things looked worse than what they were, from the outside looking in,\u201d Brunson said<\/a> after sweeping Philly. \u201cBut from everyone inside the building, we were working every single day to be the best team we could be. That\u2019s all we were focusing on. And we had times where it was positives and negatives, ups and downs, but that\u2019s what our goal was. That\u2019s still our goal: be the best team we can be. Just continue to learn. Continue to get better. The journey shows you who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll have to wait a while to find out how this team\u2019s journey ends. What it\u2019s shown us so far, though, has been pretty damn impressive.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think the longer we\u2019ve played together as a team, the more we\u2019ve grown,\u201d Brunson said<\/a> Sunday. \u201cWe\u2019ve found ways to get better. It\u2019s a chemistry thing. It\u2019s a feel thing. It\u2019s how things happen. Things get better over time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nick Nurse understood the disadvantage his Philadelphia 76ers were facing, having just one day off between completing a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665157,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[315723,4131,64,63,483,12847,307962,2870,7219,6167,16118,20455,9473,71862,37975,19696,94993,87780,20449,12845,2873,16113,12834,15566,177382,590,1025,3907,9275,5136,9688,221949,9747,85,17196,52204,12838,3198],"class_list":["post-665156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ariel-hukporti","tag-atlanta","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boston","tag-bucks","tag-cavs","tag-celtics","tag-cj-mccollum","tag-dallas","tag-hawks","tag-jalen-brunson","tag-jazz","tag-jeremy-sochan","tag-joel-embiid","tag-jordan-clarkson","tag-jose-alvarado","tag-josh-hart","tag-karl-anthony-towns","tag-knicks","tag-lakers","tag-landry-shamet","tag-mikal-bridges","tag-mike-brown","tag-miles-mcbride","tag-nba","tag-new-york","tag-nuggets","tag-og-anunoby","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-76ers","tag-postseason-game","tag-robinson","tag-sports","tag-steph","tag-tyrese-maxey","tag-victor-wembanyama","tag-warriors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665156\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}