DETROIT — After a contentious playoff series with the New York Knicks last season, the Detroit Pistons were left hungry for more.
That’s translated to the Pistons storming to the front of the Eastern Conference. But in their first chance to see the Knicks since their elimination, it meant a commanding performance that left no doubts.
Cade Cunningham put on a dominant night posting 29 points and 13 assists, without scoring in the fourth quarter, to lead the Pistons to a 121-90 victory at Little Caesars Arena Monday night.
The first meeting between the teams since the playoffs featured the Pistons (27-9) atop the Eastern Conference and the Knicks (23-13) at No. 2 just a handful of games behind.
Despite missing Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren and Caris LeVert due to injury, the Pistons shot over 50% from the field and three-point range. Javonte Green scored 17 and Jaden Ivey added 16 — both off the bench — as Detroit earned a marquee victory.
The home crowd was in it early, hurling boos down at Knicks guard Jalen Brunson the first time he touched the ball. He responded in kind with a 12-point first quarter.
But the Pistons were putting together solid team ball to offset his damage with an early 9-0 run as Duncan Robinson and Isaiah Stewart hit their first looks from deep.
Before taking to the bench toward the end of the period, Cunningham caught up with Brunson, scoring 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting. A three-point spark from Jordan Clarkson, kept the Pistons from getting out ahead and led by one point going into the second quarter.
Detroit got its own bench spark as their reserves showed some quality defense, forcing the Knicks into five early turnovers, including a pair of offensive fouls and a pair of blocks from Daniss Jenkins.
In the second quarter alone he posted seven points, three dimes and had the two blocks — having totaled one block in his career before Monday.
The Pistons went out by as much as 11 points, but New York consistently had a response, shooting 8-of-14 from beyond the arc in the first half.
Detroit put some good distance in the closing minutes as another triple from Robinson and a last-second feed from Cunningham to Ausar Thompson for an easy dunk that pushed the Pistons up 64-54 at halftime.
The third quarter was all Detroit and all Cunningham.
While the Knicks were sluggish out of the break — shooting 5-of-23 in the third — Cunningham was dominating with a 15-point quarter that extended the Pistons’ lead out to as much as 24 points.
It seemed like Cunningham was just about everywhere, providing assists on 2-of-4 Detroit baskets he didn’t make in the period and delivering a decisive block playing transition defense on New York’s Miles McBride.
Even as the Knicks found some rhythm late in the quarter, Jaden Ivey scored the final six points for the Pistons to maintain a 20-point lead and hand New York its lowest-scoring quarter of the season with 15 points.
The Pistons didn’t need much from the fourth quarter to get the win, but Green got them there with 12 points in the period. Detroit went deep into its bench with five minutes to go, letting rookie Chaz Lanier, Marcus Sasser and two-way center Tolu Smith get some run in what became a runaway victory.
[**BOX SCORE**](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587345&xs=1&xcust=jacob-richman%7C&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fgame%2Fnyk-vs-det-0022500502%2Fbox-score%23box-score&product_category=Sporting+Goods%3EAthletics%3EBasketball)
**Up next:** The Pistons keep their home stand going on Wednesday when they host the Chicago Bulls. The teams split their first two matchups this season, with the home team winning each.