New Delhi, June 7 -- The number that matters most right now in the 2026 NBA Finals is not the scoreboard after two games, not the 13-game winning streak the Knicks carry into Madison Square Garden on Monday, and not the oddsmakers' line that has New York as a 1.5-point favorite to push San Antonio to the brink of elimination. The number is +239.

the highest figure in the entire league, and six points away from erasing the single most dominant season-long postseason efficiency mark in NBA history. Stephen Curry set it in 2017, finishing at +245 as the Golden State Warriors tore through the bracket at a record 15-1, the closest any modern team had come to a perfect playoff run until now.

Towns does not need a spectacular performance on Mo...