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Houston's Running Floater

On May 16, 1999, the 8-seed New York Knicks beat the 1-seed Miami Heat 78-77 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals to complete the first 8-over-1 upset in NBA history in a first-round series longer than three games. Allan Houston did it. With the Knicks down 77-76 and 4.5 seconds left, Patrick Ewing inbounded to Houston near the right elbow. Houston took two dribbles into the paint, rose up over the outstretched arms of Tim Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning, and floated a running one-hander toward the rim. The ball hit the front rim. Bounced off the back rim. Hung on the rim. And dropped through with 0.8 seconds left. Knicks 78, Heat 77. The Knicks would go on to make the NBA Finals as an 8-seed; the only one in league history to do so, before falling to the Spurs. Allan Houston still gets stopped on the streets of New York 27 years later because of that one shot and is a prominent figure in the Knicks front office as special assistant to the general manager.

Knicks

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The Comeback Knicks

The New York Knicks set a record by achieving the #1, #3, and #5 largest comebacks in NBA Finals history all in the same 2026 Finals. #1: 29-point comeback in Game 4 They trailed by as many as 29 points (81-52 in the 3rd quarter) before rallying for a 107-106 win on OG Anunoby’s tip-in with 1.2 seconds left. This shattered the previous Finals record (24 points by the 2008 Celtics). #3 and #5 — These came from other games in the series (e.g., a 16-point deficit in Game 5 and a 14-point one in Game 1, per varying reports), where they also overcame double-digit deficits in all four of their wins.44 The Knicks’ “Comeback Knicks” run featured resilience throughout the playoffs and Finals, culminating in their first title since 1973 (with Jalen Brunson as Finals MVP). This is now one of the most improbable Finals performances ever.

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The Best Postseason Point Differential

The Knicks finished their title run with the best post season point differential in NBA history at +283. Their 3 losses in the playoffs amounted to a difference of 6 total points.

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Thibs Fired

On June 3rd, 2025, exactly one year go the New York Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau after he led the Knicks to their first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years, made the playoffs in 4 of 5 years and led Knicks to consecutive 50+ win seasons for first time since the 1990s. At the time it seemed like the type of decision that the Knicks had been notorious for making; one step forward, two steps back. One year later and the Knicks are playing in their first NBA Finals game in 9,840 days.