NBA
Knicks: Good news and bad news from stunning 120-111 loss to Pistons
The shorthanded New York Knicks couldn’t take down a scrappy Detroit Pistons team Saturday, as they saw their four-game winning streak end by a score of 120-111. The Knicks drop to 14-9 on the season while the Pistons improve to 10-15.
New York never led in this game, their first wire-to-wire loss of the season. They struggled defensively and couldn’t overcome a bad Pistons team with a smaller rotation. Karl-Anthony Towns sat this game with a knee issue and Cameron Payne missed his second consecutive game with an elbow injury. Both players are considered day-to-day.
The Knicks were terrible defensively
The Knicks’ perimeter defense was putrid against the Pistons. After improving on that end of the floor during the winning streak, Detroit outran New York and knocked down 18 threes on 36 attempts.
Pistons guard Cade Cunningham torched the Knicks with one of the best performances of his career. He recorded a triple-double with 29 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds. He led the charge for his team and helped set the tone early, as Detroit outscored New York 39-23 in the first quarter.
Malik Beasley haunted New York with seven threes off the bench, good for 23 points. He was left wide open several times by the Knicks, allowing for easy, uncontested shots for one of the best three-point shooters in the league.
Each time it seemed like the Knicks were energized and mounted a comeback, poor transition defense led to easy buckets all-around for the Pistons, which led to their demise in this one.
The Knicks had a rare off night from the free throw line
Free throws have been an area of success for the Knicks this season, as they entered this game with the best free throw percentage by a team in the NBA.
Against Detroit, it was a different story, and arguably the biggest difference maker. New York shot just 16-for-27 from the free throw line and missed many key shots from the charity stripe as they were trying to go on runs.
Without Towns and Payne, the Knicks struggled to generate good offense to mask the free throw issues. As a team, New York shot 32.4% from the three-point line, a figure that was not good enough to overcome the Pistons’ hot shooting.
Jalen Brunson was a bright spot for the Knicks
Jalen Brunson played a great game in this one, as he recorded 31 points and dished 10 assists. However, turnovers were a problem for him without Towns, as he gave the ball away five times.
Brunson has continued to have a great season after a slow start. He is now averaging 26.8 points and 8.7 assists over his last 10 games.
Overview
The Knicks’ four-game winning streak comes to an end along with their 16-game winning streak against the Pistons dating back to 2019. They will hope to get Towns and Payne back for their next game on Monday against the Toronto Raptors and get a bounce-back win on the road.