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The Detroit Pistons had the Knicks on upset alert.
Three quarters into Game 1 of their first-round playoff series, the Pistons had turned yet another 3-point barrage into an eight-point lead at Madison Square Garden.
A tense sellout crowd was looking for a reason to explode.
And finally, the Knicks gave them just that.
A 21-0 run by the Knicks fueled an anything-but-easy 123-112 win on Saturday night, giving them a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Knicks trailed, 98-90, with 9:06 left in the fourth quarter when Cameron Payne kicked off the run by completing a lay-up through contact for a three-point play.
A little over a minute later, Payne drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game, 98-98, and send the Garden crowd into a frenzy. Jalen Brunson gave the Knicks the lead for good with 7:16 when he finished an improbable floater through contact.
Those late-game heroics were part of a 12-point fourth quarter by Brunson and an 11-point fourth quarter from Payne.
Brunson had briefly disappeared into the Knicks’ locker room during that second half and came back wearing a different pair of sneakers.
“I think he grabbed his cape,” head coach Tom Thibodeau joked afterward.
And just like that, the Knicks avoided falling behind in the series.
The third-seeded Knicks (51-31) entered as favorites over sixth-seeded Detroit despite the latter winning the regular-season series, 3-1, and shooting 41.3% from 3-point range in those head-to-head meetings.
Detroit shot 13-of-24 on 3-pointers through the first three quarters Saturday as Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. benefited from extra attention the Knicks paid to Pistons star Cade Cunningham.
The Pistons finished 15-of-32 on 3-point attempts.
Cunningham, who averaged nearly 31 points per game against the Knicks in the regular season, managed 21 on 8-of-21 shooting on Saturday as OG Anunoby operated as his primary defender. He had largely been guarded by Mikal Bridges during the regular season meetings.
Brunson, meanwhile, overcame a 2-for-13 start to finish with 34 points on 12-of-27 shooting.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Anunoby each added 23 points, while Payne scored 14 off the bench.
Tobias Harris led the Pistons with 25 points.
Saturday marked the postseason debuts of Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thomson, and hat inexperience loomed down the stretch.
It was the 15th consecutive playoff loss for the Pistons, who are appearing in the postseason for the first time since 2019. Detroit finished an NBA-worst 14-68 last season, during which it lost a single-season record 28 consecutive games.
But the ascensions of Cunningham and other recent lottery picks; the additions of several savvy veterans; and the hiring of head coach J.B. Bickerstaff helped the Pistons become the first team in NBA history to triple its win total from one season to the next.
The series continues Monday night, when the Knicks host Game 2 at the Garden.
Continue reading...
Three quarters into Game 1 of their first-round playoff series, the Pistons had turned yet another 3-point barrage into an eight-point lead at Madison Square Garden.
A tense sellout crowd was looking for a reason to explode.
And finally, the Knicks gave them just that.
A 21-0 run by the Knicks fueled an anything-but-easy 123-112 win on Saturday night, giving them a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Knicks trailed, 98-90, with 9:06 left in the fourth quarter when Cameron Payne kicked off the run by completing a lay-up through contact for a three-point play.
A little over a minute later, Payne drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game, 98-98, and send the Garden crowd into a frenzy. Jalen Brunson gave the Knicks the lead for good with 7:16 when he finished an improbable floater through contact.
Those late-game heroics were part of a 12-point fourth quarter by Brunson and an 11-point fourth quarter from Payne.
Brunson had briefly disappeared into the Knicks’ locker room during that second half and came back wearing a different pair of sneakers.
“I think he grabbed his cape,” head coach Tom Thibodeau joked afterward.
And just like that, the Knicks avoided falling behind in the series.
The third-seeded Knicks (51-31) entered as favorites over sixth-seeded Detroit despite the latter winning the regular-season series, 3-1, and shooting 41.3% from 3-point range in those head-to-head meetings.
Detroit shot 13-of-24 on 3-pointers through the first three quarters Saturday as Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. benefited from extra attention the Knicks paid to Pistons star Cade Cunningham.
The Pistons finished 15-of-32 on 3-point attempts.
Cunningham, who averaged nearly 31 points per game against the Knicks in the regular season, managed 21 on 8-of-21 shooting on Saturday as OG Anunoby operated as his primary defender. He had largely been guarded by Mikal Bridges during the regular season meetings.
Brunson, meanwhile, overcame a 2-for-13 start to finish with 34 points on 12-of-27 shooting.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Anunoby each added 23 points, while Payne scored 14 off the bench.
Tobias Harris led the Pistons with 25 points.
Saturday marked the postseason debuts of Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thomson, and hat inexperience loomed down the stretch.
It was the 15th consecutive playoff loss for the Pistons, who are appearing in the postseason for the first time since 2019. Detroit finished an NBA-worst 14-68 last season, during which it lost a single-season record 28 consecutive games.
But the ascensions of Cunningham and other recent lottery picks; the additions of several savvy veterans; and the hiring of head coach J.B. Bickerstaff helped the Pistons become the first team in NBA history to triple its win total from one season to the next.
The series continues Monday night, when the Knicks host Game 2 at the Garden.
Continue reading...
