moranelkarifnews : NBA playoffs: Jalen Brunson scores 40, leading Knicks to 1st-round series win over Pistons

Jalen Brunson‘s 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 4.3 seconds remaining in regulation lifted the New York Knicks to a 116-113 win over the Detroit Pistons in Game 6 of their first-round NBA playoff series. With the win, the Knicks advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals to face the Boston Celtics. 

Brunson finished with 40 points, shooting 15-of-33 from the floor, while adding seven assists and four rebounds to push past Detroit and avoid a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. Mikal Bridges added 25 and OG Anunoby scored 22 for the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 10 points, but grabbed 15 rebounds before fouling out with under a minute to go. 

Cade Cunningham‘s jumper from the free throw line with five minutes left gave the Pistons a 105-103 lead, finishing off a 13-0 run. Josh Hart tied the game with a layup on the Knicks’ next possession, but Detroit scored the next seven points while New York missed six consecutive shots. 

The Knicks had an opportunity to regain the lead with one minute left, but Ausar Thompson prevented Brunson from getting a shot and Detroit took over. Jalen Duren made one of two free throws to give the Pistons a 113-111 lead. But after a timeout, Bridges put back a Brunson miss to tie the score with 35 seconds remaining.

Cunningham led the Pistons with 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, but shot 0-for-8 on 3-pointers. Duren followed with 21 points and six boards, providing a key defensive presence in the paint. Malik Beasley added 20, hitting 6-of-13 3s, but didn’t make any in the second half. 

Knicks get hot early, but Pistons surge back

Brunson asserted himself early on, scoring 15 points with four assists in the first quarter. He shot 7-for-9 from the floor, leading a 60% New York shooting effort (4-of-10 on 3s). 

After the Pistons closed to within 9-8, the Knicks quieted the crowd with an 11-0 run. Detroit cut the deficit to 30-23 on a Beasley 3, but New York scored the last seven points of the quarter, punctuated by a Miles McBride 3-pointer. 

The Knicks built their lead to 42-27 on Towns’ jumper two minutes into the second quarter, but Detroit finally made a run from there beginning with a Dennis Schröder 3. The Pistons outscored New York 19-8 over a six-minute stretch to tie the score at 49-49, fueled by three 3-pointers by Beasley with Cunningham and Duren working their lob game inside. 

Detroit took its first lead of the game at 58-57 with one minute before halftime on a short Cunningham jumper and went into the locker room leading 61-59 on Beasley’s sixth 3-pointer of the half. That finished off a 38-22 quarter for the Pistons. 

Pistons go cold after halftime

The Knicks came out strong again in the third quarter, going on a 15-6 run during the opening four minutes, capped by a Brunson 3-pointer. New York opened up a 10-point margin on a 3 from Anunoby and, more importantly, they tagged Duren with his fourth foul. 

With Isaiah Stewart missing his fifth game in the series with right knee inflammation, Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff briefly decided to go without a center. But the Knicks easily drove to the basket and Detroit put Paul Reed into the game before they could fall further behind. 

The Knicks extended their lead behind five points from Brunson, and appeared in danger of losing momentum when Anunoby was called for a foul for throwing Schröder to the floor. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau challenged the call, arguing that Schröder held Anunoby first. New York lost the challenge, yet maintained a double-digit lead on a 3 from Bridges and put-back dunk by Josh Hart. 

Detroit shot 6-of-18 in the quarter, including 0-of-7 from behind the arc. Tim Hardaway Jr. finally broke that cold spell with a 3 midway through the fourth, his only make from long range in the game. 

The Pistons finished their season with a tough series against the Knicks, making the playoffs as the No. 6 seed with a 44-38 record after going a league-worst 14-68 last season. New York gets to continue its title aspirations with a clash against the reigning NBA champion Celtics that will tip off on Monday, game time to be announced. 

Jalen Brunson‘s 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 4.3 seconds remaining in regulation lifted the New York Knicks to a 116-113 win over the Detroit Pistons in Game 6 of their first-round NBA playoff series. With the win, the Knicks advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals to face the Boston Celtics.

Brunson finished with 40 points, shooting 15-of-33 from the floor, while adding seven assists and four rebounds to push past Detroit and avoid a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. Mikal Bridges added 25 and OG Anunoby scored 22 for the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 10 points, but grabbed 15 rebounds before fouling out with under a minute to go.