Terry Francona reacts to the Knicks historic blowout record
As someone who used to manage in Philadelphia and Cleveland, Terry Francona was interested in the NBA Eastern Conference finals pitting the Cavaliers against the New York Knicks, who are led by the Villanova trio of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart and coached by former Cavaliers head honcho Mike Brown.
And as someone who has presided over three of the most impressive winning streaks in Major League Baseball history, Francona also has a unique understanding and appreciation for the red-hot run the Knicks mounted to make the NBA Finals for the first time this century.
Francona's track record and role atop big sports teams give him a unique perspective, and unfortunately for Knicks fans, his takeaway is troubling. Maintaining play at this level isn't easy, and the Knicks' streak could be setting fans up for disappointment.
The Record-Setting New York Knicks
The Knicks, as you no doubt know, unless you have been living insulated from the real world inside a steel-lined building a la "Night of the Comet," will enter the NBA Finals in the midst of the most resounding 11-game winning streak the league has ever seen.
The 11-game winning streak is not the longest in NBA playoff history. The Knicks are merely tied for the third-longest run along with the 1989 and 2001 Los Angeles Lakers and behind the 1999 San Antonio Spurs (12 straight wins) and the 2017 Golden State Warriors (15 straight wins). Every predecessor except the 1989 Lakers won it all.
But that's about the only record - playoffs or otherwise - the Knicks haven't torpedoed since they suffered their most recent defeat Apr. 23, when the Atlanta Hawks earned a 109-108 win in Game 3 of an Eastern Conference first-round series.
That dropped the Knicks into a two games to one hole in the best-of-seven set and unleashed the usual doom and gloom responses that are routinely unleashed regarding the fortunes of a team that hasn't won an NBA title since 1973 and hadn't, until this week, made the Finals since 1999.
But the Knicks have spent the past month vanquishing all those demons, ghosts and #narratives. Their 11 consecutive wins over the Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers and Cavaliers have been by a combined 262 points, which is the greatest point differential over an 11-game span in NBA history - playoffs or regular season.
The Knicks have now outscored their opponents by 262 points across the last 11 games.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) May 26, 2026
That is the best point differential across 11 games in NBA history, regardless of whether it is regular or postseason play.
What an incredible month it has been in New York.
In 14 playoff games overall, the Knicks are outscoring their opponents by an average of 19.4 points per contest. So they could lose a closely (or even not-so-closely) contested Finals and still easily surpass the record set by the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks, who won the NBA title while outscoring their opponents by 14.5 points per game. But those Bucks only played 14 games total, which would add another layer of head-shaking wonder to the Knicks' feats if they win it all.
Terry Francona's Red Sox Ride Hot Streaks To World Series Titles
So what's all this have to do with Hall of Fame-bound BASEBALL manager Terry Francona?
Well, Francona began building his Cooperstown resume in 2004 and 2007, when his Boston Red Sox teams won the World Series by riding dramatic American League Championship Series comebacks all the way to a pair of sweeps in the Fall Classic.
The 2004 Red Sox, of course, became the first baseball team to overcome a three games to none deficit in a best-of-seven series by stunning the New York Yankees before they swept the St. Louis Cardinals to win the franchise's first title since 1918. The eight straight wins in a single postseason set a big league record, since matched by the 2005 Chicago White Sox and the 2014 Kansas City Royals.
Three years later, the Red Sox ended the postseason on a seven-game winning streak by overcoming a three games to one deficit to knock off Cleveland before dispatching of the previously red-hot Colorado Rockies, whose run to the World Series is the closest recent comparison to the Knicks.
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The Rockies entered the World Series with 21 wins in their last 22 games. They racked up wins in their final 15 regular season games, including a one-game playoff with the San Diego Padres for the NL wild card decided in wild walk-off fashion, before sweeping the Philadelphia Phillies in a three-game NL Division Series and the Arizona Diamondbacks in a four-game NLCS.
And then the Rockies, with eight days off before the World Series, led for a grand total of three innings while being outscored by the Red Sox 29-10.
"I think it's a little different in baseball, because rest is probably really good for those guys," Francona said Tuesday afternoon before his Cincinnati Reds faced the New York Mets at Citi Field. "Baseball, you lose your timing.
"Rhythm and timing is so big in our sport. Theirs, I think, rest probably does really help their legs."
The Knicks looked rusty while enduring their lone scare over the last two rounds in Game 1 against the Cavaliers, who were two nights removed from a Game 7 win over the Detroit Pistons when they took a 22-point lead with under eight minutes left in regulation.
The Knicks, of course, mounted the 0.1 percent comeback and stunned the Cavaliers, 115-104, in overtime.
Related: Where Does Cavs' Game 1 Collapse Rank Among Cleveland Heartbreaks?
New York will have eight days of rest before the Finals open up next Wednesday night at the Western Conference champions, whoever emerges from the Oklahoma City Thunder-San Antonio Spurs duel - the defending NBA champion Thunder lead the series three games to two heading into tonight's Game 6 - will have more rest than the Cavaliers, but not nearly as much time to develop rust as the 2007 Rockies.
"I guess if you're (the Thunder or Spurs), you hope momentum carries you through," Francona said. "I've seen it both ways."
Francona Sets Another Streak Record In Cleveland
Francona cemented his Hall of Fame bonafides in Cleveland, where he is the franchise's longest-tenured manager and led the small-market club within a hit of its first championship since 1948 in a seven-game World Series loss to the Chicago Cubs in 2016.
He oversaw an arguably more impressive feat the next season, when Cleveland set an AL record by winning 22 straight games from Aug. 24 through Sept. 14 - the second-longest big league streak since 1900 behind only the 26-game winning streak authored by the New York Giants way back in 1916.
That record-setting run started a season-ending 33-4 tear for Cleveland, Of course, baseball being baseball (and Cleveland being Cleveland), Francona's squad was stunned in the AL Division Series by the Yankees, who overcame a two games to none deficit by winning the final three games of the best-of-five series - the first three-game losing streak for Cleveland since July 9-16 (a span that included the All-Star Break).
The disappointing ending for Cleveland is a reminder the Knicks' ultimate goal remains four wins (consecutive or otherwise) away and that the best way to keep winning is to not think too much about it.
"I don't know how the Knicks do things, but I don't think we ever get too carried away with who you are," Francona said. "I remember the year in Cleveland when we won the 22 in a row. After a while, the national media started coming and they were getting so frustrated because they kept asking (about the streak). I'm saying, ‘Hey man, we just are showing up.' And yeah, it's fun. I love winning, but we're not doing anything different. We're just who we are."
Fortunately for the Knicks, losing focus or getting wrapped up in the historic streak shouldn't be a problem with the borderline robotic Brunson as their captain and unquestioned leader.
And if the Knicks lose another game between now and the end of June? The reaction of Brunson and his teammates will probably mirror that of Francona on Sept. 15, 2017, when Cleveland's streak ended with a 4-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals.
"I remember the night we lost, (team president) Chris (Antonetti) and ‘Cherny' (general manager Mike Chernoff) were in my office," Francona said. "I'm like ‘(Shoot), losing still sucks!'"
Related: Brian Windhorst Reveals Price For Cavs To Land Giannis Antetokounmpo
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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 11:03 AM.