Thibodeau’s old habits might cost the Knicks this time

The Detroit Pistons came into Madison Square Garden knowing they couldn’t afford to leave down 2–0. For a young team, with the majority of its roster debuting in the playoffs, heading home in a hole like that against the battle-hardened New York Knicks would have been a near-impossible mountain to climb. The Pistons promised more fight, more grit, more East Coast basketball – and in Game 2, they delivered.

There would be no repeat of the 21-0 fourth-quarter collapse from Game 1, no disappearing act at the hands of Cameron Payne. Instead, Detroit took control early, built a lead that swelled to 15 points, and held off a late Knicks charge to steal a 108–99 victory and level the series.

Cunningham shines, Schröder stings from the bench

Cade Cunningham was the star of the night, posting 33 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in what felt like a statement performance. But the X-factor came off the bench, with Dennis Schröder dropping 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Jalen Duren bounced back from a quiet Game 1 with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks, while Tobias Harris kept the intensity high, adding 15 points and 13 rebounds.

The Pistons survived poor outings from Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley, two of the few Detroit players with prior playoff experience. They combined to shoot 1-for-14 from three-point range, but it didn’t matter. This wasn’t a game decided on the perimeter. It was won in the trenches, with Detroit outlasting New York in the areas that mattered most.

Knicks wilt under Thibodeau’s iron grip

The Knicks, true to form, once again ran themselves into the ground. Head coach Tom Thibodeau’s infamous reliance on his starters – a hallmark of his career – loomed large as the minutes piled up.

OG Anunoby logged 42 minutes, finishing with 10 points. Josh Hart played the same, also ending with 10 points. Karl-Anthony Towns managed 33 minutes and 10 points, thanks in part to the return of Mitchell Robinson, who played 20 minutes but failed to score. Mikal Bridges led the supporting cast with 19 points in 38 minutes, though his shooting was erratic – 8-of-18 from the field, 3-of-11 from deep.

And then there was Jalen Brunson – once again shouldering the burden. He poured in 37 points (including 14 in the final quarter), added 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, but committed six turnovers. His Herculean effort kept the Knicks alive but couldn’t tilt the game back in their favor, as the Garden fell eerily silent in the closing minutes.

Series shifts to Detroit with all to play for

Now tied at 1–1, the series moves to Detroit, where the Pistons will hope to capitalize on home-court advantage and the momentum of a gutsy Game 2 win. But the Knicks remain favorites.

This series, like so many classic Eastern Conference battles, feels destined to go long. Both teams resist losing as fiercely as they resist winning. It’s basketball at its rawest: rebounds, fouls, hustle – and maybe a little chaos. Pure East Coast basketball.

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New York Knicks

Stats

8 OG Anunoby
3 Josh Hart
32 Karl-Anthony Towns
25 Mikal Bridges
11 Jalen Brunson
5 Precious Achiuwa
4 Pacôme Dadiet
55 Ariel Hukporti
13 Tyler Kolek
2 Miles McBride
1 Cameron Payne
23 Mitchell Robinson
44 Landry Shamet
17 P.J. Tucker
0 Delon Wright

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
8 OG Anunoby	42	10	5	0	5	2	2	2	0	2/2	4/6	0/4	0	3	0
3 Josh Hart	40	10	7	1	6	5	1	1	0	5/6	1/4	1/2	0	4	0
32 Karl-Anthony Towns	33	10	6	0	6	0	0	0	1	0/0	5/9	0/2	0	4	0
25 Mikal Bridges	38	19	5	1	4	0	1	3	0	0/0	5/7	3/11	0	2	0
11 Jalen Brunson	43	37	3	1	2	7	6	2	0	9/11	8/15	4/12	0	5	0
5 Precious Achiuwa	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
4 Pacôme Dadiet	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
55 Ariel Hukporti	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
13 Tyler Kolek	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
2 Miles McBride	13	8	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0/0	1/3	2/4	0	0	0
1 Cameron Payne	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	3	0
23 Mitchell Robinson	20	0	7	4	3	1	1	0	0	0/0	0/2	0/0	0	1	0
44 Landry Shamet	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
17 P.J. Tucker	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
0 Delon Wright	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0

Detroit Pistons

Stats

12 Tobias Harris
9 Ausar Thompson
0 Jalen Duren
2 Cade Cunningham
8 Tim Hardaway Jr.
5 Malik Beasley
19 Simone Fontecchio
0 Ron Holland II
34 Bobi Klintman
7 Paul Reed
25 Marcus Sasser
17 Dennis Schröder
43 Lindy Waters III

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
12 Tobias Harris	43	15	13	3	10	1	1	1	0	2/2	5/7	1/4	0	2	0
9 Ausar Thompson	20	5	5	3	2	0	2	2	0	1/4	2/7	0/0	0	6	0
0 Jalen Duren	36	12	13	4	9	2	2	1	3	6/6	3/4	0/0	0	5	0
2 Cade Cunningham	42	33	12	1	11	3	5	2	0	10/12	10/17	1/4	0	3	0
8 Tim Hardaway Jr.	21	0	1	0	1	1	1	0	0	0/0	0/2	0/6	0	2	0
5 Malik Beasley	30	9	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	4/4	1/1	1/8	0	2	0
19 Simone Fontecchio	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
0 Ron Holland II	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	1	0
34 Bobi Klintman	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
7 Paul Reed	11	6	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	0/0	3/4	0/0	0	1	0
25 Marcus Sasser	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
17 Dennis Schröder	29	20	2	0	2	3	2	0	0	5/6	3/5	3/5	0	2	0
43 Lindy Waters III	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0