THE Knicks Lacked sharpness on both ends of the floor and, after falling behind early, couldn’t hold off a huge night from Detroit. Cade Cunningham in a 120-111 loss to the Pistons on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
Playing without Cities of Karl-AnthonyNew York fell behind by as many as 17 points before cutting its deficit to two points in the fourth quarter. But the home team never led in the match and was outscored 43-31. The Knicks shot 11 of 34 from behind the arc, but their opponents shot 18 of 36.
Jalen Brunson led the team with 31 points on 11-of-21 shooting (3-of-7 from deep) with 10 assists and four rebounds, but was minus-10 in 44 minutes.
The Knicks fell to 14-9 on the year. Detroit – winners of 14 and 17 games over the past two seasons – improved to 10-15. The Pistons entered the night as losers of their last 16 games against the Knicks – including eight straight games at MSG.
Here are some points to remember…
– The Knicks didn’t start the game in rhythm as they committed four turnovers to fall behind 13-2, forcing a Tom Thibodeau timeout less than four minutes into the match. And things haven’t gotten better for the rest. Cunningham found Malik Beasley from beyond the arc (Cunningham’s sixth assist and Beasley’s fourth three) to give the visitors a 16-point lead to end the first quarter.
In the first period, the Knicks committed seven turnovers and allowed the Pistons to go 16 of 26 from the floor – hitting 7 of 15 from deep for a 39-23 lead. Brunson started 4-for-6 from the field with nine points, two rebounds and two assists, but the rest of the team went 4-for-11.
Over the past two games, the Knicks have trailed by a combined 29-6 to start, SNY’s Ian Begley calculated. On Thursday against Charlotte, Brunson scored 19 points in the first quarter to put them back in the game en route to a 24-point victory.
History would not repeat itself this time.
– The Knicks cut the lead to four points twice in the second half – first on a four-point play by Brunson, then on a Josh Hart three. But each time, Detroit reduced its lead to nine. A little foreshadowing for the rest of the match: the Knicks could push the visitors, but not impose their will on them.
The Pistons’ Cunningham went 5-for-6 in the second, including four threes to give him 21 points on the game and he dominated the Knicks defense with nine assists with no turnovers and five rebounds for a plus-21 in 18 minutes. .
New York rebounded in the quarter, shooting 60 percent from the floor with Hart and Brunson combining to go 7 of 8, but entered the half trailing 69-58. Through the first 24 minutes, the Pistons held a 24-16 advantage in points in the paint and a whopping 16-2 advantage in fast break points. (As of this period, the Knicks have outscored the visitors 18-3 at fast break points.)
– The start of the third felt familiar to the start of the first: The Knicks missed their first three shots and the Pistons scored six unanswered for their biggest lead of 17. But that’s when the Detroit’s lack of killer instinct began to show: The 13-3 run put New York within single digits with some choppy games of OG Anunoby – including a tip slam on a missed free throw – as the Pistons began to miss some open looks.
Trailing 89-77 with four minutes remaining, the Knicks flipped the switch again — with Cunningham on the bench struggling — scoring eight unanswered while holding the Pistons to 0 for 7 from the floor with two turnovers.
– And while the fourth quarter saw the Knicks cut the deficit to two, Cunningham couldn’t deny he was on a 16-4 run, forcing a Thibs timeout with seven to play.
Through nine minutes of the quarter, the Pistons made more field goals (11) than the Knicks attempted shots (6-for-10). Mikal Bridges and Anunoby (assisted by Brunson) responded with a three to cut the game to single digits again and force a timeout.
Hart — who received a technical foul for contesting a call in the third — was ejected with 1:10 left and the Knicks were down seven. Before the Pistons could inbound the ball, Hart was assessed as a second technician after a rather nonchalant exchange with one of the referees.
Precious Achiuwa showed flashes, adding six points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes coming off the bench for a team-high plus-9.
Anunoby added 17 points but was minus-10 in 39 minutes. Bridges finished with 20 on 8-of-17 shooting and was a plus-1 in 38 minutes. Hart only played 39 minutes and had 17 with six rebounds and was minus-3.
Jericho Sims started in place of KAT, but did not return after playing the first six minutes of the game which saw New York trailing by nine.
Game MVP: Cade Cunningham
The former No. 1 overall draft pick in 2021 became the first Pistons player with a triple-double at MSG. Cunningham finished with 29 points on 9-of-17 shooting (5-of-8 from deep) with 15 assists and 10 rebounds (three turnovers) and was a plus-16 in 35 minutes.
Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks head north of the border to take on the Toronto Raptors on Monday, tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.
