5 Takeaways from the Knicks demolition of the Pistons

New York routed Detroit for the 16th consecutive time kicking off November in smooth fashion.

The New York Knicks (3-2) secured a decisive 128-98 victory over the Detroit Pistons (1-5) on Friday in a game that was over at the end of the first quarter.

No, seriously. And if you don’t believe me, here are five quick takeaways from the third victory of the Knicks in the early season as they have already put up an impeccable 2-0 in their ongoing four-game road trip before they fly to Houston on Monday.

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New York’s Continued Dominance Over Detroit

If you don’t know anybody shown in the picture above, I wouldn’t blame you.

The Knicks defeated the Pistons on Friday and thus put up the 16th consecutive dub in the left column when it comes to head-to-head matchups against Detroit.

The last time New York lost a game against the Motown Men we had yet to reach Y2K20 as it happened in November 2019. COVID-19 wasn’t even on the radar then and there. Just imagine.

It’s a shame these two only face each other four times through the season given the expected outcome, but hey, that’s a guaranteed 4-0 in the year for y’all Knickerbockers out there!

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Early Commanding Effort Allows for Some Rest

The Knicks established a 39-13 lead by the end of the first quarter, marking one of their most dominant starts this season. This is as obvious as it gets, but it’s worth mentioning it anyway: the early lead allowed all players to catch a well-deserved rest.

We all know coach Tom Thibodeau will never, ever, under any circumstance—no matter if his team is up 2 or 20—sit the whole starting pack for ample minutes and stretches of the game. But hey, a break’s a break even if it’s tiny, ain’t it?

All starters played between 27 (Towns) and 37 (Hart) minutes on Friday, but Thibs got to empty the bench and used seven players off the pine, each of them getting five minutes of run at the very least—including Jacob Toppin, Ariel Hukporti, Tyler Kolek, and Pacome Dadiet.

It’s a long season, so you gotta save as much energy as possible any time you can, let alone when facing minnows.

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Jalen Brunson Is Oh-So-Back

To the haters and naysayers, keep preaching and praying.

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 36 points in 31 minutes, shooting 14-of-22 from the field, and adding five dimes against just a couple of TOs. He committed two thefts and pulled down one rebound. Not bad for a struggling man (?).

JB will always tell you he has to be better, win or lose, but after showing some issues in the first week of play while getting in rhythm with the newcomers and the rest of the Knickerbockers, the point guard is finally at the peak of his powers.

Brunson bagged 14 shots on Friday—six of them from beyond the arc—and reached 26 points in the first half alone, enough to let Detroit know where things were going.

All in all, 36-point outing for the Brunson Burner in a season-high performance that will probably shut some small-sample believers’ mouths gibberish.

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All Starters Ate & Put on a Collective Show

Despite a sprained wrist, Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists in just 27 minutes on the court.

Bridges dumped 15 pops with 7 boards, 3 dimes, and 2 evenly split stocks. All of that for a team-high +31 plus/minus. Who said this man was broken?

OG Anunoby contributed 21 points as well as a 4-6-2 on the boards, dimes, and steals departments after Michael Zeno called him out and demanded more offense from him given his hefty paycheck. Keep it up, MZ!

Hart could have gone 48 but he was forced to warm the bench logging only 37 minutes. Cute. He cooked himself 13 points and fell just one rebound short of another dub-dub, but he made up for that with 4 assist and a couple of steals.

All of the above, along with Brunson’s 36 points, made this Knicks Starting Five the first one to feature five men scoring 10+ points in four consecutive games in NYK history since the 88-89 season when you might have not even been born yet (barely, but it’s my case!).

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Defensive Effort Yields Offensive Goodies

Not only did the Knicks ruin the Pistons days dropping 128 pops on them, but New York was great at limiting the offensive prowess of the Motown club preventing Detroit from hitting the three-digit mark on Friday.

Yes, forcing 22 turnovers was great, but even better was watching our dudes score 30 points off those giveaways. The Knicks stole 16 possessions from the Pistons’ paws while limiting Detroit’s steals to a meager six.

Uber-dawgs OG & Mikal were strong on both sides of the floor combining for 36 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals, and a block.

Most intense, locked-in, Knicks’ performance of the season.