The defending champion New York Knicks are finally in the win column, beating the previously unbeaten Detroit Pistons 111-97 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday for their first win of the season. The victory also avoided an unwanted piece of history: a 0-4 start for a reigning champion, something not seen since the 1969-70 Boston Celtics.
Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns (Credits: ESPN)
Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with 27 points and 20 rebounds, scoring 13 of his points during a decisive third-quarter run. Jalen Brunson added 23 points and seven assists, shaking off a dreadful shooting start to take over after halftime.
Knicks’ 37-13 Third Quarter Buries Pistons
New York trailed by 13 points in the first quarter and looked headed for a fourth straight defeat. Detroit ended the first quarter on a 15-5 run and led 38-25 early, with Paul Reed and Cade Cunningham doing the damage.
The Knicks fought back in the second quarter, with Andre Drummond and Landry Shamet sparking a 19-8 run, and Brunson sank two free throws with 2.4 seconds left to give New York the lead for good at 51-50. Then came the avalanche: an 11-0 opening to the third quarter, and a 37-13 period overall, that blew the game open to a 25-point cushion.
Brunson, who came in shooting just 39% for the season and went 1 for 9 in the first half, hit his first three shots after the break. Mikal Bridges made his first four three-pointers of the season and scored 12, while OG Anunoby and Shamet added 13 points each.
Brunson: ‘Just Continue to Hit Singles’
Brunson framed the win as a return to basics. The Knicks focused on the little things — stops, effort, execution — rather than trying to win the game in one swing. Towns echoed that after the game, crediting “effort, physicality, effort and execution” and saying the team did the little things that got them the win.
The result snapped the Knicks’ six-game losing streak against the Pistons, who had won all three meetings last season by an average of 28 points. For Detroit, Paul Reed had 22 points and nine rebounds starting in place of injured center Jalen Duren, while Cade Cunningham flirted with a triple-double at 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. The Pistons, who were seeking their first 4-0 start since 2018-19, fell to 3-1.
Next up, the Pistons host Charlotte on Wednesday night, while the Knicks visit Chicago — with the champions finally able to build on a win instead of chasing one.
Also Read: ‘Everything Falls on My Shoulders’: Jalen Brunson Takes Blame as Knicks Fall to 0-3 After Magic Loss and LeBron’s Sixers Debut Ruins Knicks’ Banner Night With 106-100 Rally At Madison Square Garden
Source: ESPN — read the full story there.
