Knicks 123, Pistons 112: “GUTCHECK WIN”

Garden Party: New York storms back with 21-0 run to take Game One

This evening’s first game of the first round of Eastern Conference playoffs between the New York Knicks (third seed) and the Detroit Pistons (sixth seed) at Madison Square Garden was delayed while ESPN aired the regulation ending of the game between the Nuggets and the Clippers (Denver won in overtime). The wait was worth it. I have never attended a playoff game. When I do, I wouldn’t mind witnessing a thriller like today’s affair.

OG Anunoby carried the Knicks with a dominant first half—19 points, stifling defense on Cade Cunningham, and a buzzer-beating three—while Mitchell Robinson brought energy, rim protection, and a highlight put-back slam. Despite Detroit’s hot shooting from deep and a brief second-quarter lead, New York’s physicality, paint dominance, and defensive grit earned them a 57-55 edge at the break. The Knicks fell behind by nine in the third quarter, but with a fiery 21-0 run led by Brunson, Payne, and KAT, they flipped that into a double-digit lead. Despite a brief scare with Jalen’s ankle and a late push from Cade, New York’s defense and clutch buckets down the stretch sealed the win, 123-112.

Quoth foiegrastyle: “GUTCHECK WIN.” Yes indeed! In the third quarter, all the momentum was heading in Detroit’s direction. But our heroes dug deep, got the production we’d expected from their big three—Brunson, Towns, and Anunoby—and showed tenacity on both ends to win the quarter 40-21.

OG finished with 23 points, and though he cooled off offense in the second half, his defense cemented the win. Karl-Anthony Towns logged a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double in his first postseason game for the Knicks—and added four blocks, two steals, and just three fouls in 39 minutes! And the captain? Jalen Brunson overcame a tough first half and what appeared to be another sprained ankle to finish with 34 points and eight assists on 12-of-27 shooting. Captain Clutch did it again.

Mikal Bridges watched the first ten minutes of the fourth quarter from the bench. Why? Because he was a dud and, off the bench, Cameron Payne was earning his salary and then some. Mikal finished with eight points on nine shot attempts and netted a -19; Cam scored 14 points and was a +23 in his 15 minutes.

For Detroit, Tobias Harris finished with 25 points (most of them in the first half). Cade Cunningham found more daylight in the second half but worked hard for his 21 points, 12 assists, and six turnovers. And Malik Beasley added 20 points off the bench.

Knicks lead the series 1-0!

First Half

Fittingly for a game in which physicality was promised, the scoring started at the free throw line, as Ausar Thompson was fouled by Josh Hart.

Playing just his fifth game since missing 15 with a sprained ankle, Jalen Brunson worked hard (4-of-15 in the first half) for seven points. With him and OG Anunoby connecting from deep early, though, and their opponents brick-a-licking, New York jumped out to a 10-3 lead around the seven-minute mark.

It is especially impressive to succeed while the refs have their thumbs on the scale:

OG harrassed Cade Cunningham, making his postseason debut, and prevented him from getting to his spots. It took Cunningham almost eight minutes to score his first bucket on a fast-break layup.

Landry Shamet was first off the bench, spelling Josh Hart, who had two early fouls. Soon after, Mitchell Robinson checked in to relieve Towns. Mitch made a quick impact, scoring a put-back on an Anunoby miss.

Detroit fell behind by seven but clawed back with an 11-2 run, carried by Tobias Harris and OAKAAKUYOAK Tim Hardaway, Jr. The villains took a brief, one-point lead with 3:22 left, and then a two-point advantage off a Malik Beasley triple. Things got rocky for our heroes, but thanks to another three and a buzzer-beating step-back jumper from OG (12 first-quarter points!), the score was knotted at 27 at the break.

‘Twas truly an even opening frame, but Detroit was slightly sharper. They shot 50% from the floor and hit 3-of-8 from deep, while the Knicks struggled a bit at 42.3% overall and 3-of-10 from three despite the quick start. Both teams had 11 boards, six assists, and three turnovers.

To start the second quarter, the teams took turns in the lead. It was KAT’s turn in the offensive spotlight, scoring all 10 of his first-half points in the frame. Around the nine-minute mark, coach Tom Thibodeau deployed Robinson alongside Towns for a twin-towers approach.

Cunningham found Mikal Bridges an easier defender to score on, walking his way into a short midrange score while Detroit was enjoying an 8-0 run that put them up by three. Pretty quickly, Thibs had OG guarding Cade again. Coincidentally, the Knicks scored five unanswered—including a wiiillld put-back slam by Mitch—to retake a two-point lead.

We enjoyed a reminder of what a powerful defensive presence Mitch can be. With OG, he picked up the double-team on a driving Cade and they smothered his shot out of bounds. At least thrice, a Piston found himself on his back with two Knicks trying to rip the ball away.

A Mitch steal and five consecutive points from OG gave New York a 57-55 lead at intermission. Anunoby led New York with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting, plus two steals and a block. An ALL-NBA first-half performance by the league’s best 3&D!

Detroit’s Harris topped all scorers with 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and Beasley added 12 off the bench. Through the first half, Detroit shot better from deep—50% on 9-of-18 threes—but New York was perfect from the line and dominated in the paint with 26 points inside. Both squads grabbed 20 boards, though the Knicks had fewer turnovers (six to Detroit’s 11). The Pistons moved the ball well with 12 assists, but their two techs didn’t help.

Second Half

Hardaway stepped up with eight of the Pistons’ 17 points, giving them a 72-66 lead after five minutes. Check this out, though: it was called offensive interference because the ball didn’t go all the way through the net. Whattayathink?

The Knicks responded with a 6-0 run in just over a minute, sparked by a Brunson jumper, a Hart bucket, and a KAT putback to tie the game at 72. Along the way, Towns blocked a layup, grabbed a board, and capped the sequence with a score that forced a Detroit timeout.

After starting the game shooting 2-of-13, Jalen had hit 5-of-6. Cade was finding new wrinkles in the Knicks defense, too.

With two-ish minutes left, Jalen appeared to turn his ankle, but he shook it off. A minute later, he collapsed again in the middle of play. Adrenaline seemed to carry him through the pain, but this injury could be a factor in the upcoming games.

Detroit’s interior defense swatted back multiple shots—including appearances by Deuce McBride, Brunson, and Anunoby. Dennis Schröder chipped in five points to put the Pistons up by nine, their biggest advantage yet. At the break, Detroit was ahead 91-83.

Thus far, Mikal Bridges had been a non-factor, scoring six points on 3-of-8 shooting and netting a -19 through three quarters. Josh Hart scored five points but was at least a +1. It’s safe to say we expected a little more production from two-fifths of the starting line-up. Meanwhile, Detroit was shooting 53% from the field and a blistering 54% from deep; the Knicks had shot 46.4% overall and just 35% from three. Detroit had the rebounding edge, too. New York would need to find some offensive cohesion and defensive stops to win the final frame.

KAT kicked off the quarter with five points. A good start! Cam Payne was on the floor while Brunson retreated to the locker room, presumably to have his ankle treated. Jalen came back none too soon—around 8:30—to score a deficit-reducing bucket. Thibs left Payne in with Jalen in the backcourt, and it paid off, with Cam nailing a 25-foot dagger to tie the game at 98.

The basketball gods were smiling on the Garden: Timmy missed two good looks on one end; Jalen Brunson sliced through the Detroit interior for an acrobatic score; Payne swished another triple for a five-point lead; KAT intercepted an inbound pass; and Josh connected with Jalen on a fast-break score. That capped a 15-0 run, putting New York ahead 105-98 midway through the quarter. Bridges applauded from the bench as Josh and Jalen added six more points. A 21-0 run over 4:30!

Beasley drilled a triple, but the tide was roaring against the Pistons. Payne and Anunoby stole the ball as Detroit continued to drown with at least seven turnovers in the quarter. New York was ahead by 10 at the two-minute mark.

But Cunningham wasn’t ready to quit, scoring six straight points. But Jalen and Josh answered with layups to regain the 10-point lead with 24 seconds left. And that was all she wrote.

Up Next

They square off again in Game Two, Monday at the Garden. Rest up, Knickerbockers.

Box Score