While over 50,000 participants ran through New York City on Sunday, another group of athletes crossed boroughs through a traditional mode of transport – the subway.
The Detroit Pistons were in the Big Apple for their road matchup against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. With the New York City Marathon shutting down several streets across the five boroughs, the Pistons took the local route to Prospect Heights.
Rather than swerving through one-way streets in a coach bus or splitting cabs, the Pistons took the 3 train to Atlantic Avenue in time for their 3.30pm tipoff.
‘NYC Marathon took us on a detour…’ the Pistons X account captioned a video of the team piling up in the train car and exiting to the platforms.
Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, and other players laughed in the train car as they tried to blend in with the locals.
The Detroit Pistons took the New York City subway to get to Barclay Center in Brooklyn
The Pistons soundly defeated the Nets on the afternoon of the New York City Marathon
The train ride did not get in the way of the Pistons, who soundly beat the Nets 106-92. Six Pistons scored double-digit points in the team win.
Cunningham led the way with 19 points. Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley both tallied 18, with the latter doing so off the bench. Jaden Ivey and Tim Hardaway Jr, scored 15 and 14, respectively.
Duren had a dominant showing with a 13-point, 17-rebound double-double.
On the other hand, Cam Johnson led the way for the Nets with 26 points while Cam Thomas trailed him with 17. The win moved Detroit to 2-5 while Brooklyn is 3-4 to start the season.
Sunday’s instance was not the first time an NBA team took the subway to a game in New York. In 2017, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers took the subway after a shootaround in preparation for a game against the Knicks.
