The Knicks snapped their 0-3 start with a 111-97 win over the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden. Knicks guard Jalen Brunson looked at the World Series game on a television in the locker room to describe his team’s approach.
“Just continue to hit singles,” Brunson said. “Just get on base and hit singles and focus on little things until we get our rhythm.”
The win eased the panic surrounding the defending NBA champions, at least for one night. It also reversed several trends that had hurt New York. The Pistons had dominated the Knicks in the regular season, winning all three meetings last season by an average of 30 points. New York had also struggled in the second half, getting outscored by 26 points over the first three games.
Knicks Take Control in the Middle Quarters
The Knicks blitzed Detroit in the second and third quarters, outscoring the Pistons 63-25 during that stretch. For those minutes, they looked like the version of the team that performed so well in the playoffs. The victory also handed the conference-leading Pistons their first loss of the season.
Swingman Mikal Bridges got going after a slow start, hitting four 3-pointers after failing to make any in the first three games.
“We had more good moments in this game in totality than we did in the first three games, and that’s why we got the win,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said. “Our awareness, our level of physicality on [Detroit’s shooters] was a lot better than the previous game.”
Brunson Stays Aggressive
Brunson did not have his most efficient game, going 5-for-18 for 23 points. He still pushed the pace and attacked, drawing a fourth-quarter foul that sent Pistons defensive ace Ausar Thompson to the bench for good as Detroit mounted a late charge.
Towns Responds at Halftime
Karl-Anthony Towns played to his usual standard. Brown reportedly challenged him at halftime to do a better job on Pistons center Paul Reed, who was seeing more minutes with All-Star center Jalen Duren injured. Reed was active early, helping Detroit build a 15-point lead.
“I told him the truth, ‘KAT, the guy is killing us on the glass and if he’s getting a rebound, he’s putting it back up. If he catches it on the perimeter, guard him,'” Brown said. “And he did those things. I thought that shift in mindset was big for us in the second half.”
Towns finished with 27 points and 20 rebounds. It was the 14th time in his career he has recorded at least 25 points and 20 rebounds, and the fourth time he has done it as a Knick.
“I thought we did a good job of picking up our intensity and our physicality. I said before the game for us to win this, we have to be the best version of ourselves and not worry about everything else that’s going on,” Towns said.
Locking Down Cade Cunningham
Stopping Pistons All-NBA guard Cade Cunningham was the top priority. Cunningham scored 40 in his last visit to Madison Square Garden last season and appeared headed for another big night, but he shot 4-of-14 after the first quarter.
With Cunningham contained and no other reliable scoring option for Detroit, the Knicks steadily built a sizable lead.
“Our guys realized, no I can’t react to them. I got to dictate to them what’s going to happen,” Brown said. “And do it with a smart level of physicality.”
A Win, But Work Remains
Brown was careful not to overreact to one victory, acknowledging that the team still has room to grow.
“Is it fixed? No. it ain’t fixed. Nothing’s really fixed. What tonight shows us is we’re more than capable if we put our minds to it, and that’s what we got to continue to try to build off of.”