This was the Karl-Anthony Towns the Knicks have been waiting for this postseason. The one getting deeper post position to receive the ball and taking advantage of it. When he got the ball further out on the floor, he was in motion downhill to the rim.
“He bounced back,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said, via the Associated Press, referencing KAT’s rough Game 2. “He can score a lot of different ways and he used his versatility to his strength.”
This was the Clutch Player of the Year Jalen Brunson, scoring 12 of his 30 in the fourth quarter, making sure the Knicks didn’t blow their double-digit fourth quarter lead and hang on for the win.
The result was New York going into Detroit and taking back home-court advantage with a 116-113 win. The Knicks now have a 2-1 series lead.
“I thought the way we started the game was much better,” Thibodeau said. “And, we made timely plays down the stretch.”
Give the Pistons credit, a young team with limited playoff experience, they are not backing down — the Knicks would make a run, Detroit would answer.
The Pistons’ bench was their real key — it outscored the Knicks’ bench 40-9. Cade Cunningham and Tim Hardaway Jr. each had 24 points to lead Detroit, but Cunningham added 11 assists. Dennis Schroder had 18 off the bench for the Pistons.
But as they have all season, Thibodeau and the Knicks leaned heavily into their starters, with four of them — Brunson, KAT, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges scoring at least 20.
New York is back in front in this series, but Detroit is not about to roll over. This series could go on for a while.
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