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NEW YORK – Just less than two hours before his team took the court against the Detroit Pistons Monday night, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was asked what his team’s showing in Game 1 would mean for Game 2.
The answer? Not much.
“Just that you have to reset and then be ready to reestablish your defense,” Thibodeau said.
But the Pistons also reset.
This time they managed to close out the win – barely.
The third-seeded Knicks overcame a double-digit deficit once again but the sixth-seeded Pistons escaped Madison Square Garden with a 100-94 victory Monday night to even their first-round series.
Game 3 is Thursday night in Detroit.
Jalen Brunson had 37 points for the Knicks, who shot 42.0 percent from the field but went just 10-of-35 (28.6 percent) from the perimeter.
Once again, it was a wild final period.
The Pistons led by 13 with about seven minutes to go in the fourth but the Knicks slowly started chipping away – there was no 21-0 game-changing run like there was in Game 1, though.
A pair of free throws by OG Anunoby cut it to four at the 4:27 mark before the Pistons’ Cade Cunningham answered with two at the other end 10 seconds later.
Both teams then clanked three-point attempts before Josh Hart was fouled going to the rim – he made both foul shots to cut it to four with just more than three minutes left.
The Pistons turned the ball over on a shot-clock violation 30 seconds later and the Knicks took advantage as Brunson drained a jumper to make it a one-point game as the Garden erupted.
After Jalen Duren made an alley-oop dunk off a feed from Cunningham, Bunson was fouled shooting a three and hit two of three as “M-V-P!” chants rained down on the court as the Knicks cut it to two.
Josh Hart then made a dunk to tie it but Dennis Schroder hit a triple to push Detroit back up by three with a minute left.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Mikal Bridges, who had 19 points, front-rimmed a three-point attempt and the Knicks had to foul with 8.1 seconds left.
Dennis Schroder hit the second of two to make it 98-94 Detroit.
Brunson missed a three out of a Knicks timeout and the Knicks again fouled.
Duren made both shots to lock up the Pistons win.
The point guard struggled in Game 1 with Knicks forward OG Anunoby harassing and hounding him all game.
But the former first-overall pick got himself back on track in Game 2.
Cunningham finished with 33 points on 11-of-21 shooting (1-of-4 from deep) with 12 rebounds and three assists.
He had 20 points just in the first half – he had 23 total in Game 1.
Cunningham drained a three with about seven minutes to go in the second quarter that put the Pistons up by 11.
The Knicks still made things difficult for him, but Cunningham fought through it – that was something Thibodeau acknowledged could happen before the game.
“He’s such a dynamic player, there’s times you can defend him perfectly and he still has the ability to make a shot or make a play,” Thibodeau said.
The Pistons again were physical, they were scrappy, they harassed the Knicks.
They got away with a lot of it.
But they also drew a lot of calls.
In the first half alone Detroit shot 14 free throws, hitting 13 of them. The Knicks shot two.
So to put it simply, the calls weren’t exactly even to say the least.
For the game the Pistons went 28-of-34 from the foul line. The Knicks were 16-of-19 after getting some more calls late.
Just not enough.
Another problem for the Knicks was the rebounding disparity.
The Pistons outrebounded them 48-34. The Knicks had just seven offensive boards.
"I think it was, sometimes we were out of position a little bit," Hart said. "You’ve got to give them credit, they hit the glass hard. But we’ve just got to come down with those rebounds. Especially in the playoffs where every possession matters. You’ve got to finish every possession the right way."
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Knicks vs Pistons: Game 2 takeaways
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The answer? Not much.
“Just that you have to reset and then be ready to reestablish your defense,” Thibodeau said.
But the Pistons also reset.
This time they managed to close out the win – barely.
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The third-seeded Knicks overcame a double-digit deficit once again but the sixth-seeded Pistons escaped Madison Square Garden with a 100-94 victory Monday night to even their first-round series.
Game 3 is Thursday night in Detroit.
Jalen Brunson had 37 points for the Knicks, who shot 42.0 percent from the field but went just 10-of-35 (28.6 percent) from the perimeter.
Knicks again fight back in fourth quarter, but this time fall short
Once again, it was a wild final period.
The Pistons led by 13 with about seven minutes to go in the fourth but the Knicks slowly started chipping away – there was no 21-0 game-changing run like there was in Game 1, though.
A pair of free throws by OG Anunoby cut it to four at the 4:27 mark before the Pistons’ Cade Cunningham answered with two at the other end 10 seconds later.
Both teams then clanked three-point attempts before Josh Hart was fouled going to the rim – he made both foul shots to cut it to four with just more than three minutes left.
The Pistons turned the ball over on a shot-clock violation 30 seconds later and the Knicks took advantage as Brunson drained a jumper to make it a one-point game as the Garden erupted.
After Jalen Duren made an alley-oop dunk off a feed from Cunningham, Bunson was fouled shooting a three and hit two of three as “M-V-P!” chants rained down on the court as the Knicks cut it to two.
Josh Hart then made a dunk to tie it but Dennis Schroder hit a triple to push Detroit back up by three with a minute left.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Mikal Bridges, who had 19 points, front-rimmed a three-point attempt and the Knicks had to foul with 8.1 seconds left.
Dennis Schroder hit the second of two to make it 98-94 Detroit.
Brunson missed a three out of a Knicks timeout and the Knicks again fouled.
Duren made both shots to lock up the Pistons win.
Cade Cunningham flips the script
The point guard struggled in Game 1 with Knicks forward OG Anunoby harassing and hounding him all game.
But the former first-overall pick got himself back on track in Game 2.
Cunningham finished with 33 points on 11-of-21 shooting (1-of-4 from deep) with 12 rebounds and three assists.
He had 20 points just in the first half – he had 23 total in Game 1.
Cunningham drained a three with about seven minutes to go in the second quarter that put the Pistons up by 11.
The Knicks still made things difficult for him, but Cunningham fought through it – that was something Thibodeau acknowledged could happen before the game.
“He’s such a dynamic player, there’s times you can defend him perfectly and he still has the ability to make a shot or make a play,” Thibodeau said.
Uneven whistle
The Pistons again were physical, they were scrappy, they harassed the Knicks.
They got away with a lot of it.
But they also drew a lot of calls.
In the first half alone Detroit shot 14 free throws, hitting 13 of them. The Knicks shot two.
So to put it simply, the calls weren’t exactly even to say the least.
For the game the Pistons went 28-of-34 from the foul line. The Knicks were 16-of-19 after getting some more calls late.
Just not enough.
Rebounding issues for Knicks
Another problem for the Knicks was the rebounding disparity.
The Pistons outrebounded them 48-34. The Knicks had just seven offensive boards.
"I think it was, sometimes we were out of position a little bit," Hart said. "You’ve got to give them credit, they hit the glass hard. But we’ve just got to come down with those rebounds. Especially in the playoffs where every possession matters. You’ve got to finish every possession the right way."
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Knicks vs Pistons: Game 2 takeaways
Continue reading...
