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NEW YORK – The opening round series between the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons showcases the contrast between seasoned experience and youthful exuberance, and the first game played out according to that narrative, as the younger Pistons squandered a fourth-quarter advantage.
The Knicks emerged victorious on Saturday, securing a 123-112 win, propelled by strong performances from Jalen Brunson (34 points, eight assists) and Karl-Anthony Towns (23 points, 11 rebounds, five assists).
Here are five key observations as New York enhances its record to 10-3 at Madison Square Garden over the past three playoffs…
GameTime delves into the intricacies that Detroit overlooked in Game 1, highlighting how the Pistons’ young roster can leverage this experience for future growth.
During the third quarter, the Pistons managed to score 36 points over 22 possessions, marking their third-most effective quarter of the season, and entered the final period with an eight-point lead. Despite their inexperience, the Pistons are not known for losing late-game leads; they had recorded victories in 40 of their last 41 matches when ahead by more than five points in the fourth quarter.
However, difficulties emerged immediately. Detroit began the final quarter with possession but failed to execute an inbounds play. Cameron Payne intercepted Cade Cunningham at the backcourt, Cunningham did not approach the ball, and no teammate reacted swiftly enough. This lapse resulted in a five-second violation, the first of eight turnovers for the Pistons in the fourth quarter.
Following this, they committed a 24-second violation. On the next possession, Ausar Thompson missed a wide-open dunk on a fast break.
Despite still holding an eight-point lead after Dennis Schröder scored a layup by bypassing Towns with just over nine minutes remaining, the Knicks launched into a commanding 21-0 run that allowed them to seize total control.
New York scored on 10 consecutive possessions. The Pistons had chances to respond, with Jalen Duren effectively rebounding for the Knicks. However, they squandered five attempts over two possessions during the run, followed by two costly turnovers from Cunningham, which led to easy points for the Knicks and put the Pistons in an insurmountable deficit.
The first of these turnovers resulted from a weak inbounds pass intercepted by Towns, setting up a layup for Brunson…
The chance to take Game 1 on the road slipped away, with the Pistons’ youthfulness and persistent turnover issues rearing their heads at the most inopportune moment.
“This is an excellent opportunity for us to learn,” remarked head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “They executed well in Game 1. Now, we have game footage, experience to draw from. We can analyze it and improve for Game 2.”
This season, the Pistons experienced the fifth-largest decline in turnover rate from the previous year, yet they remain in the bottom tier of the league, committing 14.7 turnovers per 100 possessions. The 21 turnovers accrued on Saturday represented only the sixth occurrence this season where a Knicks opponent exceeded 20 turnovers.
The Pistons account for two of those instances, corresponding to both losses against New York.
The third quarter wasn’t a defensive highlight for Towns or the Knicks. The Pistons scored 25 points within their first 13 possessions during the period, culminating in a play wherein Cunningham soared past Towns for a dunk. Additionally, the Pistons finished the quarter strong with five consecutive scores, establishing that eight-point lead.
This situation reaffirmed that the Knicks’ acquisition of Towns last September was a trade-off of defense for offensive capability.
Nevertheless, Towns ultimately helped his team secure defensive stops in the fourth quarter, during which the Pistons only managed 21 points over 27 possessions. His second steal resulted from a defensive play against Cunningham coming off a screen, disrupting Cunningham’s pass intended for a rolling Duren…
A couple of possessions later, Towns effectively defended Tobias Harris’s drive along the baseline, forcing a challenging shot. Despite some struggles, Towns contributed positively to the Knicks’ defense, finishing the game with four steals and two blocks—marking just the 16th occasion in his career (out of 681 games including playoffs) where he recorded at least six steals and blocks in a single game.
During the game’s start, the Pistons had Duren matched up against Josh Hart, the Knicks’ non-shooter, allowing Harris to defend Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns frequently utilized his size to overpower the shorter Harris early in the game.
With little support from teammates, the Pistons seemingly opted for a strategy focused more on limiting Towns than on Brunson. However, this approach did not yield favorable results.
In fact, Harris outscored Towns in the first half, 22-10. However, that matchup did not play out as planned on the other end, and the eventual scoring lines (25-23) were quite close, with Towns shooting an efficient 10-for-14 (including two free throws) for his 23 points.
He leveraged his size adeptly, at times overpowering Harris on drives to the basket…
And at other times, converting difficult shots in the post. The Knicks benefited from 17 points on 11 occasions directly resulting from a Towns post-up or isolation play leading to shots, turnovers, or free throw attempts.
As he had in his two regular-season matchups against the Knicks, Ausar Thompson was primarily tasked with guarding Brunson. Yet, Thompson incurred two fouls within the first three minutes—one in the backcourt and another an offensive foul drawn by Brunson.
The 22-year-old ultimately finished with five fouls, three of which were against the backcourt, in under 23 minutes of play, hampering the Pistons’ defensive strategy and shifting Brunson’s defensive coverage to Schröder and Malik Beasley.
While the initial defender may not always succeed at containing an opponent, Brunson targeted Harris in the second half, scoring crucial buckets during the Knicks’ decisive 21-0 run.
Though Brunson struggled, shooting just 4-for-15 in the first half, he rebounded with an impressive 8-for-12 (including 6-for-8 from the free-throw line) performance in the second half, along with five assists and no turnovers.
Both teams attempted to disrupt the opposing team’s lead ball-handler, but the Pistons could have done a better job at restricting Brunson, who has now scored 30 or more points in 12 of his last 19 playoff games.
After the Knicks secured a definitive lead in the fourth quarter, the Pistons managed to force Brunson to pass the ball. He had gained a step on Harris in isolation, but Duren came to assist. Brunson’s outlet pass went to Cam Payne, who was being closely guarded by Cunningham. As the Pistons scrambled defensively, OG Anunoby was left wide open near the basket. However, Payne opted for a challenging stepback three-pointer, successfully sinking it with seven seconds still remaining on the shot clock.
Success in playoff games often hinges on role players stepping up, and on Saturday, that role was filled by Payne, who contributed 14 points in under 15 minutes off the bench, shooting an impressive 5-for-7 and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
The Knicks’ starting lineup accumulated a league-high 940 minutes together this season, but this group did not dominate, outscoring opponents by a mere 3.3 points per 100 possessions—ranking 18th among 32 lineups with a minimum of 200 minutes played.
Despite having the least used bench in the league, it proved pivotal for the Knicks’ success. New York performed at its best (plus-9.1 points per 100 possessions) when Payne was on the court.
The dynamic guard will have another chance to make an impact in Game 2 on Monday (7:30 ET, TNT).
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John Schuhmann serves as a senior statistics analyst at NBA.com. He can be reached via email, his archive can be found here, and he is also on X.
The perspectives expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the NBA, its teams, or Warner Bros. Discovery.
