Cade Cunningham finished with 29 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 120-111 win over the host New York Knicks on Saturday.
Cunningham shot 9 of 17 from the field and went 5-of-8 from three-point range. Malik Beasley added 23 points off the bench, making 7 of 10 attempts from beyond the arc. Jaden Ivey chipped in 16 points and Tobias Harris added 13 points for Detroit, which ended a three-game skid. The Pistons also ended their 16-game losing streak to the New York Knicks.
The Knicks were without their leading scorer Karl-Anthony Towns, who missed the game because of a knee injury. Jalen Brunson had 31 points and 10 assists and Mikal Bridges added 20 points for New York, which had its four-game win streak end. Josh Hart and OG Anunoby each finished with 17 points. Hart was ejected after receiving his second technical foul with a little more than a minute left in the game.
After taking a four-point lead into the fourth, Detroit opened the quarter on a 14-4 run, capped by Beasley’s three-pointer, to push its lead to 103-89 with 7:55 left. The Pistons continued to extend their advantage, leading 107-91 with 6:38 left on Jalen Duren’s dunk.
Brunson’s floater got the Knicks within 118-111 with 1:22 left but New York failed to score from there. The Pistons shot 70.6 percent from the floor in the fourth quarter and hit all five of their 3-point attempts.
The Pistons opened the game on a 10-2 run and extended their lead to 16 points as they took a 39-23 lead into the second quarter. They shot 13-of-23 from beyond the arc in the first half. Cunningham, who went 5-of-7 from 3-point range before the break, scored 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor to help the Pistons lead by 11 at halftime.
The Knicks went on a 13-3 run in the third, cutting their deficit to 78-71 after back-to-back baskets by Anunoby. The Pistons pushed their lead to 89-77 after Beasley’s free throw but New York finished the quarter on an 8-0 run to get within 89-85 entering the fourth
–Field Level Media