The Selection Puzzle
The New York Knicks are now a -500 favorite at Draft Kings to win the 2026 NBA championship. Two wins away from a title that seemed impossible just weeks ago when they were 30-to-1 underdogs after falling behind the Atlanta Hawks 2-1 in the first round.
Only three road teams in NBA history have won the first two games of the Finals. The 1993 Chicago Bulls did it. The 1995 Houston Rockets did it. Both won the championship. The Knicks are now the third.
The matchup already has enough history; the job is to keep the reading list shorter than the tension.
The Fitness Questions
Their current streak sits at 13 consecutive playoff wins. The only other team to manage that across a single postseason was the 2017 Golden State Warriors, who also won it all. The Knicks have out-rebounded opponents by 113 and out-assisted them by 92 during this run. They have outscored playoff opponents by 282 total points — the best point differential in playoff history by a wide margin.
Still, the number that matters most to Mikal Bridges is zero. That's the score he keeps in his head going into Game 3. "Zero-zero. Stay desperate at all times," he said after Game 2. Bridges knows this territory better than anyone on the roster. He's the only Knick who has been on a team that blew a 2-0 Finals lead — his 2021 Phoenix Suns took the first two games against Milwaukee before losing four straight.
The Warm-Up Before It Counts
The lesson hasn't been forgotten. The Knicks were also 2-0 up in last year's Eastern Conference Finals against Indiana, then lost at home in Game 3. They know exactly what the Spurs are feeling right now after Victor Wembanyama's late turnover in Game 2. They've lived that same mistake.
Madison Square Garden awaits on Monday. It's their first home game in two-and-a-half weeks. They could close this out without ever needing another road game. The odds say 83.33% championship probability. The history says it's already done. The Knicks just have to believe it's still zero-zero.