Josh Hart took just two shots tonight, but swished ‘em both—and the second was a clutch bomb that saved a blowout from becoming a very uncomfortable final two minutes at MSG.
When the New York Knicks (1-3) hosted the Detroit Pistons (3-1) at the Garden, the world champs were not necessarily desperate for a win. A fourth loss would surely have caused meltdowns across the nation, however. These Pistons are no pushovers, either, and although we’d read that Ausar Thompson would sit with a bad ankle, he suited up. Because real hoopers don’t pass up a chance to play on basketball’s biggest stage.
After surrendering 38 points in the first quarter, New York held Detroit to 25 over the next two quarters with a reassuring return to their defensive form. Jalen Brunson overcame a horrid shooting night with 13 points at the free-throw line, and Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a whopping 27-20 double-double as New York reached a 27-point lead in the fourth. Detroit chipped and chipped, however, until a mere 11-points separated the score. That’s when the otherwise gunshy Hart stepped in. Thanks to his bomb, New York could breathe a sigh of relief and finish the night victoriously. Final score: 111-97.
We love jinxes in our favor. The broadcast reported that Detroit had not trailed in a week. New York broke that dominant streak with four opening points. A certain sanity seemed restored to their offense, too. Early on, Karl-Anthony Towns stood tall at the left elbow and fed passes to slicing wings OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges. The latter was blocked at the rim but took a positive turn by connecting from deep, ending his own streak of ten consecutive misses to start the season.
Detroit stunk on the perimeter, bricking five of six tries. Cade Cunningham and John Collins crashed the glass, though, and four separate Pistons notched a block over the first eight minutes. Their defenders were extra-handsy with Jalen Brunson, who repeatedly failed to get significant separation. They were the second-best defense last season, after all.
After J.B. Bickerstaff called a timeout to settle his crew, they rode a 12-6 run to an eight-point lead, then stretched it to 11 and eventually 13. Following triples by Kevin Huerter and Daniss Jenkins, Anunoby made his first longball to slow the bleeding. But Paul Reed, filling in for an injured Jalen Duren, had a sizzle-touch and made his fifth bucket to secure a 38-25 lead at the buzzer.
The Knicks shot badly in the first quarter and did so again in the second. The guests were generous with their misses, too, and when Bridges connected on his second(!) triple, Bickerstaff needed another timeout.
KAT committed two fouls in six seconds, Cunningham hit from deep, and the deficit returned to double digits. The Knicks tightened their defense, though, and a run fueled by Shamet, Drummond, and a KAT tip-in tied the score near the four-minute mark. Detroit had missed almost everything this quarter, and Brunson’s shots weren’t falling either: he missed nine of his first ten. He, KAT, and OG combined to shoot just 1-of-14 from yard in the half. At least they attempted shots, which Josh Hart declined to do. Despite his shooting woes, Cap was nearly perfect at the line, netting two freebies that put his crew ahead 51-50 at intermission.
The guests shot 3-of-21 in the second quarter and were outscored 26-12. Whatever they did right in the half occurred around the basket: they won the paint 20-16, won the glass 30-23, and blocked nine shots. Making 13 of their 14 free throws kept the Knicks afloat, because their shooting sure didn’t. Neither team could make a three (NYK 26%; DET 24%). Reed topped the first-half scoresheet with 16 points. Brunson led the Knicks with 11.
Our heroes rocketed out of the locker room with a 13-2 run. Detroit’s frustration began to come out sideways. After a Duncan Robinson make, Towns and Reed got tangled under the rim. KAT bristled at an elbow to the back of his head and stepped toward the Piston. They had to be separated, Reed received a flagrant-one, and KAT made both freebies.
Plenty of time remained, but Detroit was coming unglued. Reed collected his fifth foul, Collins caught his second, Cunningham missed twice at the stripe, and Motown trailed by 18. The lead wasn’t just New York’s biggest of the night, but of the season. And for the first time this season, we saw the throttling effort that won a championship. They limited Detroit to six points through the first seven minutes of the half. Shamet’s corner dagger and free throws by Brunson inflated the advantage to 23. After an ugly final sequence, Josh Hart took his first shot of the night, a buzzer-beater three to close the period, 88-63.
New York went up by 27 in the fourth. It was a blast. Tyler Kolek got to play again with Jose Alvarado out and showed a little Grand Theft action of his own:
I always thought Coach Bickerstaff had some Thibodeau in him. So I scratched my head when, with eight minutes left and the deficit a not-out-of-reach 21, J.B. emptied his bench. The Pistons and Knicks were both playing the first game of a back-to-back, and the veteran coach seemed content to rest his guys to fight again tomorrow.
Mike Brown was less confident in the outcome and still had three starters on the floor midway through the quarter, with the lead at 18. Then 17. Bridges passed the ball behind Hart’s back, and Detroit capitalized on the gift with a layup. Brown needed a timeout at 5:24 with the score 99-84. During the timeout, Bickerstaff reconsidered his position. Smelling blood, he sent Thompson, Cunningham, Robinson, and Reed back in. The latter scored on a layup to cut the lead to 13.
Brunson and Cunningham traded buckets. Thompson got dinged for goaltending when he held the rim to avoid crashing into Anunoby, who was staring up at the iron and angling to shoot. OG made both. Robinson responded with a triple and a layup, and the difference was 13 with three minutes left. An OG turnover became a Holland dunk—an 11-point difference. They needed a score to keep the noose loose, and Hart drilled his second shot of the night for his second three. That sealed it for Bickerstaff, who gestured for his subs again. Soon after, the Knicks starters finally got to exit, too, and received an ovation for their second win of the campaign.
Up Next
Mo’s applying a layer of frosting on his recap. Our heroes travel to Chicago for a game tomorrow night. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.
