Game 1 of the Knicks-Pistons series had just about everything—an early buzzer-beater, a second-half ankle scare, a jaw-dropping run, and a gritty fourth-quarter takeover. And when the dust settled at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks had taken a 1-0 series lead with a 123-112 win that felt a lot closer than the final score suggests.
Jalen Brunson was the star of the night, finishing with a game-high 34 points. But the performance became even more memorable after he gave the Garden a scare, hobbling up and down the court in the third quarter after tweaking his already-injured ankle. As the game slipped into the fourth, Brunson was still in the locker room, and the Knicks were trailing 98-90 after being outscored 36-26 in the third.
And then, just when things looked wobbly—magic happened.
The Pistons went ice cold, and the Knicks exploded on a season-high 21-0 run over nearly five straight minutes. By the time Detroit regrouped, they were staring at a 111-98 deficit and a building that had completely come alive. Brunson returned just in time to torch the Pistons defense with 12 fourth-quarter points, showing no signs of the earlier limp.
Detroit didn’t fold, though. Cade Cunningham, making his playoff debut, trimmed the lead to 118-112 with 1:23 left after the Knicks were called for an eight-second violation. But that was the Pistons’ last punch. The Knicks closed it out with five straight points while Detroit came up empty, sealing the win in front of a roaring home crowd.
Karl-Anthony Towns was brilliant across the board with 23 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks—doing a little bit of everything. OG Anunoby matched him with 23 points of his own, while also grabbing 7 boards and racking up 5 steals and 2 blocks. It was Anunoby’s cold-blooded 16-foot step-back buzzer-beater at the end of the first quarter that kept things tied at 27 and set the tone for what would become a tightly contested battle.
Cameron Payne was the unsung hero. He poured in 14 points off the bench, including 11 in the fourth quarter. Thibodeau rolled with both Brunson and Payne to close out the game—two point guards the Pistons simply couldn’t contain. That small-ball backcourt not only shredded the defense but also helped contain Tobias Harris, who scored 25 points on the night but managed just three in the fourth quarter, and Dennis Schroder, who shot 1-of-4 in the final frame.
Harris had a strong first half but faded fast, taking just one shot in the third quarter and mostly disappearing late. Cunningham ended with 21 points but struggled with his efficiency, going 8-of-21 from the field. Malik Beasley chipped in 20 off the bench, and former Knick Tim Hardaway Jr. added 19 in a spirited showing, but the Pistons couldn’t overcome the turnover gap.
Detroit actually shot the ball well from three, hitting nearly 47% (15-of-32), but turnovers were their undoing. A team that averaged 14 giveaways per game in the regular season coughed it up 21 times in Game 1—including six each in the second and fourth quarters. New York committed just 11, outscoring the Pistons 25-17 in points off turnovers.
In the paint, it was all Knicks. They dominated inside, outscoring the Pistons 62-46—an area that proved critical during their fourth-quarter onslaught.
