In Saturday’s first-round opening, the youthful, rising Detroit Pistons, who were aiming for their first playoff victory in 17 years and had more than tripled their regular-season win total, seemed to have little else to prove.
After starting an icy 2-for-13 from the field, All-NBA guard Jalen Brunson had demonstrated that they were capable of defending him. Detroit led by eight points going into the fourth quarter after appearing to be in perfect offensive flow and shooting over 50% from beyond the arc in the first three quarters.
But all of it — the defense on Brunson, the Pistons’ offensive rhythm and just about everything else — came crashing down for Detroit at Madison Square Garden in the fourth quarter.
The Knicks, whose pressure defense forced a pair of turnovers to open the final period, turned the momentum quickly and embarked on a 21-0 run over a four-and-a-half-minute span to run away with the contest 123-112 and take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
After Knicks guard Cameron Payne suddenly put pressure in the backcourt, the Pistons attempted to inbound the ball on the first play of the quarter and were tagged for a five-second penalty, setting the stage for that fateful fourth quarter.
As if that were not awful enough, Detroit is next possession ended in a 24-second shot clock violation. About a minute later, the gifted second-year wing Ausar Thompson embarrassingly missed a breakaway dunk.
The Knicks, who had up until then been supported by OG Anunoby’s offense, were able to start catching up thanks to the errors.
According to Brunson, “things turned really, really quickly,” with the Pistons’ five-second infraction serving as the impetus. The way we were getting stops out there led me to believe that we were simply connected. For us, our defensive play was crucial.
The Knicks and their supporters were using the momentum they had created from the Pistons’ turnovers while all of that was going on.Following Detroit is errors, Karl-Anthony Towns (23 points, 11 rebounds, and four steals) scored five points in a short period of time. Payne, who was responsible for the first infraction, scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
And Brunson, arguably the NBA’s best closer this season with a league-best 52 baskets in the clutch, found a comfort zone after returning from what looked like an ankle tweak to take over in the final period.
Brunson, who recently missed nearly a month of action due to a right ankle injury, left the game and bench area briefly. He appeared to be hobbling after tweaking it during a play late in the third. When he returned, he had switched from the lime green sneakers he had to an off-white pair. Coincidence or not, he shot 5-for-7 for 12 points and had three assists in the fourth.
He disputed that the shoe change had anything to do with his late-game comeback and minimized any possible harm. However, Brunson may have received further assistance, said to coach Tom Thibodeau. “I believe he seized his cape,” Thibodeau grinned.
The Pistons, who have not won a postseason game since 2008 and have seen their losing streak in the playoffs stretch to 15 games, were understandably not grinning in their postgame interviews. The condition of backup big man and enforcer Isaiah Stewart, who exited the game with what appeared to be a knee injury and never came back, also raised concerns for coach JB Bickerstaff.
However, Detroit was not entirely depressed over the loss.
Pistons All-Star Cade Cunningham had a difficult start to the game, but he found a groove halfway through and finished with 21 points, 12 assists, and six turnovers.
The obvious was said after the game by veteran wing Tobias Harris, who scored a 22-point first half on Saturday after going scoreless in a Sixers elimination game against the Knicks the previous season. Game 1 was only one game, despite how horrible the breakdown was.
“For the majority of it, we did a really good job staying composed out there,” Harris said of the Pistons, who beat the Knicks three times in four outings during the regular season. “It’s just one game of a series. Playoff basketball is about how you respond. [How you respond] is one of the biggest things in this league. I’m excited to see how we respond.”
