Knicks 111, Pistons 97: New York gets its first win with a 63-25 middle stretch
Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 20 rebounds as the reigning champions ended a three-game skid by beating previously unbeaten Detroit.
New York beat Detroit 111-97 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, earning its first win of the season after three straight losses and handing the Pistons their first defeat.
The turnaround
Detroit led early, by as many as 15 points according to ESPN, with Paul Reed active in place of the injured Jalen Duren. New York then took over the middle of the game, outscoring the Pistons 63-25 across the second and third quarters, per both ESPN and Sky Sports. Sky Sports reports that Jalen Brunson made his first three shots of the third quarter to start an 11-0 run that turned a one-point halftime lead into a 62-50 advantage.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 27 points and 20 rebounds. Brunson scored 23 points on 5-of-18 shooting, according to ESPN, which also notes Mikal Bridges hit four three-pointers after making none in the first three games. ESPN reports Cade Cunningham shot 4-of-14 after the first quarter; his full line was not given in the sources Torch read.
What it means
The Knicks, the reigning champions, had lost to Philadelphia, Boston and Orlando to open the year. Sky Sports notes another loss would have made them the first reigning champions since the 1969-70 Celtics to lose their first four games. Detroit had also beaten New York in all three regular-season meetings last season, ESPN reports.
Coach Mike Brown was measured afterwards. Asked whether the team was fixed, he said, in ESPN's account: "Is it fixed? No. it ain't fixed. Nothing's really fixed." Towns said, per ESPN, "I thought we did a good job of picking up our intensity and our physicality." Brunson, also quoted by ESPN: "Just continue to hit singles."
ESPN reports Brown challenged Towns at halftime to defend Reed better.
Torch did not find a full box score, so Pistons scoring leaders and team shooting totals are not included.