The Detroit Pistons came out on a mission to break a 16-game losing streak against the Knicks, who were without Karl-Anthony Towns — and took an early lead, beat the Knicks on the boards, and staved off a Knick rally in the 3rd through 4th quarters — to win 120-111 at Madison Square Garden on a Saturday night.
Towns was out with right-knee tendonitis and is day to day. NY was also without Cameron Payne.
Cade Cunningham — Detroit’s 6’6 superstar point guard — led with 29 points on 9-17 shooting (5-8 from 3), 10 rebounds, and 15 assists, and Malik Beasley came off Detroit’s bench for 23 pts on 7-10 shooting from 3.
The Knicks erased a 17-point deficit in the 3rd quarter with a heroic run to pull within 2 points at 89-87 with 11:16 left in the 4th, but a Cunningham step-back jumper, back-to-back inside buckets by 6’10 Jalen Duren against the Towns-less Knick interior, and a dagger 3 by Simone Fontecchio put Detroit back in command. A dunk by Duren and a 3 by Beasley put Detroit back up by 14.
The Knicks made one more furious comeback in the final minute to pull back within 7 but it was too little too late. NY also missed 9 free throws on the night, going 16-27 from the line.
Thibs on the Loss
“The way we started the game,” said coach Tom Thibodeau afterwards. “They got going offensively; we weren’t into the ball; didn’t challenge shots; got in a big hole early, and then played from behind.”
“Cade Cunningham got going,” elucidated Thibs. “They get out of their screens quick; they put pressure on the rim. It starts with your ball pressure, it starts with your bigs being in proper position; your shell being tight; rotating cleanly, finishing — you have to finish your defense, challenge shots, got to get the bodies. Down 16, 2nd quarter better, 3rd quarter better, but too big of a hole to fight out of.”
“When you’re shorthanded your margin of error is a lot tighter; you have to play with great intensity on every possession,” added Thibodeau. “If you do that you have a good chance to win. You’re not going to replace KAT or Cam individually; but collectively we can. That’s where we have to be better. We can learn from it.”
“You’re disappointed in the loss, but I’m not disappointed in our team,” noted Thibs. “I want us to learn; I want to get better. We have to respond the right way to this.”
NY falls to 14-9; Detroit improves to 10-15.
1. Pistons Come Out Firing — Go up by 16
The Pistons came out firing — with Tim Hardaway Jr kicking off the scoring with a 3, Tobias Harris scoring on a drive, a deuce, and a 3, and Cade Cunningham hitting a 3 — Detroit raced out to a 13-2 lead.
Jalen Brunson and the Knicks started to wake up and fight back, but Malik Beasley started popping 3’s, and Jaden Ivey was penetrating with his quick dribble and the Pistons increased their lead to 16 points, at 36-20.
2. Knicks Get to Within 4 in 2nd Quarter
NY’s 2nd team launched a comeback to start the 2nd quarter, with Tyler Kolek hitting a 3 to being the period, and then Miles McBride going to work with a step-back 21 footer followed by a 3.
A Josh Hart floater pulled NY to within 9, and a Jalen Brunson 3-and-1 with 6:34 left pulled NY within 6, at 47-41.
JALEN BRUNSON FOR THREE AND THE FOUL pic.twitter.com/Z3FeWhXn9l
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) December 8, 2024
But Cunningham was right back at the Knicks with a 3 — and further attempts by NY to dig into the lead were met by Detroit with 3’s by Cunningham or Beasley.
Detroit took an 11-point lead into the half.
3. Pistons Go up by 17 in 3rd
A Jalen Duren dunk early in the 3rd, Tobias Harris free throws, and another Cunningham 3 put Detroit up by 17 early in the 3rd.
Duren Once a Knick
Jaden Duren was of course once a Knick for a few minutes — in the June 2022 draft, he was drafted #13 overall by Charlotte, immediately traded to NY for their 2023 #1 pick and several #2 picks, then traded by the Knicks with Kemba Walker to Detroit for a 2025 1st round draft pick (originally Milwaukee’s).
Duren has ended up being a real good one — a 6’10 “rim runner” as Wally Szcerbiak calls him — although NY has done fine with acquisitions of bigs like Achiuwa, OG, and the drafting of Jericho Sims — while the ability to get rid of Kemba Walker’s salary helped NY sign Isaiah Hartenstein in the summer of 2022.
4. Knicks Furious Comeback in 3rd
Down 17 in the 3rd, the Knicks started their 2nd big push — intensifying the D.
Mikal Bridges hit a 3 and a deuce to pull NY within 14.
Achiuwa Time
Jaden Ivey drove the lane but Precious Achiuwa greeted him at the rim, forcing a miss — Duren grabbed the rebound but had his shot Blocked by Achiuwa — Brunson grabbing the loose ball and feeding Achiuwa ahead of the field for a Dunk and the Knicks were within 9 with 7:59 left in the 3rd.
PRECIOUS!!!!! pic.twitter.com/DFK1LBqiP4
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) December 8, 2024
OG Anunoby made a tip-in, then a dunk off an Achiuwa assist and NY was within 7.
The two teams went back and forth until late in the quarter, when a Mikal Bridges blocked Ivey’s 3-point attempt, McBride grabbed the loose ball and fed Bridges for a dunk on the break to pull NY within 8.
what a sequence from the squad 🤯 pic.twitter.com/DcqdgGcAGK
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 8, 2024
A Bridges deuce pulled NY within 6, and then with 29 seconds left in the quarter, Brunson stole the ball from Ivey and fed Ariel Hukporti for a dunk and NY was within 89-85 entering the 4th.
ARIEL HUKPORTI MEANS BUSINESS‼️ pic.twitter.com/XAm4S7kvfz
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 8, 2024
Another Huckporti dunk — an alley oop slam off a Brunson assist — started the 4th and NY was within 2 at 89-87.
5. Pistons Push Back
But then came the Cunningham step-back jumper, back-to-back inside buckets by Duren, the dagger 3 by Fontecchio, the dunk by Duren and the 3 by Beasley. Detroit 103 NY 89.
NY made one final charge in the last 2:51 — back-to-back 3’s by Bridges and OG pulled NY within 8 — but Beasley hit a 3 and Detroit was up by 10 again.
Back-to-back buckets by Bridges and Brunson pulled NY within 7 with 1:22 left — but Josh Hart got hit with a technical — his 2nd which kicked him out of the game, and that was it for NY.
Hart was complaining that he got hit with a technical earlier for complaining, and then Cade Cunningham was complaining louder but didn’t get hit with a technical — so Hart got hit with another tech and was gone.
Etcetra
It was Homecoming Night for the Knicks — Knick alumni came out to be honored.
The Boxscore
https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401704909