Has Cade Cunningham proved himself in this playoff series for Pistons?
Bryce and Omari break down Cade’s performance in the past four playoff games against the New York Knicks.
The Detroit Pistons trail the New York Knicks 3-1 in their first-round playoff series.Game 5 is at Madison Square Garden at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on TNT, truTV, and FanDuel Sports Network Detroit.
It’s now win-or-go-home for the Detroit Pistons.
Down 3-1 against the No. 3 seed New York Knicks, the Pistons look to extend their first-round series with a Game 5 win at Madison Square Garden.
The Pistons dropped Game 4 at home to the Knicks 94-93 in a heated defensive battle that was overshadowed by a non-call on a Tim Hardaway attempted 3-pointer as time expired. Had the foul been called, Hardaway would have gotten three free-throw attempts and been given a good chance to give Detroit the lead with virtually no time remaining.
But instead of heading to New York with the series tied at 2-2, the Pistons go back down 3-1.
Should the Pistons pull off a Game 5 upset, they would head back to Detroit for Game 6 at Little Caesars Arena on May 1.
Stay tuned here for score updates and highlights from Game 5:
Pistons vs Knicks score updates in Game 5
The bad news for the Pistons is that they’re still not making shots at a high percentage. The good news is that the Knicks aren’t, either.
Brunson is shooting 1-for-7 from the floor so far. That probably won’t last from the Knicks’ top scorer, but the Pistons will take it, for now.
Meanwhile, the Knicks have found an edge inside the paint, pulling down 12 offensive rebounds, blocking six shots and outscoring the Pistons in the paint 30-22.
With Duren registering his third foul, the Knicks leveraged size mismatches and ran their offense through Towns. He got an and-one layup late in the quarter with Harris defending him down low, and then responded with a long 3-pointer on the next possession.
Towns and OG Anunoby lead all scorers with 11 points each, while Cunningham only managed four in the half.
It looks like Harris is alright. He made his first three shots after getting his eye poked, the last one a tough floater that tied up the game at 31-31.
Harris is the first scorer in double figures for either team, as he’s shooting 4-of-6 from the field with 10 points and three rebounds. The Knicks leading scorers are Hart and Robinson, who have nine and seven points, respectively. Towns and Brunson, meanwhile, have only combined for five.
The Pistons have not scored in the second quarter yet, while a pullup jumper from Cameron Payne and a dunk from Mitchell Robinson have given the Knicks a five-point lead.
The Pistons took a timeout after Duren accidentally poked Tobias Harris in the eye. He got up on his own power, but it’s unclear at this point how much the shot actually hurt them.
The Knicks’ first lead of the game lasted only a few seconds, with Malik Beasley shooting (and making) his first 3-point attempt of the game on the next possession.
It’s not clear where the offense will come from for either team right now. Detroit’s leading scorer Cade Cunningham has only two points on one made shot, while Brunson has added only three points for the Knicks. Both teams are shooting under 38%, though the Pistons are winning the free-throw battle shooting 5-of-6 from the line.
So while the Pistons are hanging close, that’ll probably be hard to maintain if they continue shooting only 29% from the field.
Neither team is playing well offensively. Both teams went more than two between made field goals, which both happened to come from the Knicks.
Detroit’s big men have also gotten into some early foul trouble, with Jalen Duren registering two fouls and Paul Reed sending Jalen Brunson to the line after a technical foul (though Brunson missed the shot).
A 2-pointer from Miles McBride before the break tied the game at 12, with the Knicks still searching for their first lead.
Defense was a hallmark of Game 4, and that’s how Game 5 has started as well, with both teams coming up empty on their opening possessions.
Ausar Thompson opened the scoring by making both his free throws after a Josh Hart shooting foul, though Hart made up for it less than a minute later on a layup to cut Detroit’s lead to 4-2.
Whether it’s sloppiness, strong defense or dumb luck, New York’s shots didn’t fall early, with the Knicks 3-for-9 from the field so far. A dunk from Thompson and a 3-pointer from Harris helped the Pistons extend their lead, but they’re also shooting 1-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc while the Knicks are mostly attacking the rim.
After initially being listed as questionable heading into Game 5, Pistons center Isaiah Stewart has officially been ruled out of the game.
Stewart re-aggravated a knee injury he suffered late in the season in a Game 1 loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Stewart has missed the last three games due to right knee inflammation, though he tried to play through the pain in Game 1 before leaving in the fourth quarter.
In his place, the Pistons will likely lean on backup center Paul Reed, who has been a defensive force for Detroit over the last two games.
What channel is Pistons vs Knicks on today?TV channel: TNT, truTV, FanDuel Sports Network DetroitStreaming: Sling TV, HBO Max, Prime Video.Radio: WWJ-AM (950)
The Pistons and Knicks will play for a nationally televised audience on TNT. Fans in the Detroit market can also watch Game 5 on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit, featuring longtime Pistons TV announcers George Blaha and Greg Kelser on the call. Amazon’s Prime Video also lets you add FanDuel Sports Network to your package (with a free trial).
Sling TV has packages carrying TNT and Turner channels. You can also stream any TNT game if you have HBO Max or buy a FanDuel Sports Network Detroit package through Amazon Prime video.Watch Pistons-Knicks on Sling TV
Pistons vs Knicks projected starting lineupsDetroit:Â Cade Cunningham (PG), Tim Hardaway Jr. (SG), Ausar Thompson (SF), Tobias Harris (PF), Jalen Duren (C).New York:Â Jalen Brunson (PG), Mikal Bridges (SG), Josh Hart (SF), OG Anunoby (PF), Karl-Anthony Towns (C).Pistons vs Knicks injury reportKnicks vs Pistons prediction
Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press: It’ll be a dogfight, like every game in this series has been, and the Pistons will bring the game down to the wire thanks to their rugged defense and physicality. But the cold reality is that the Knicks have two players in Towns and Brunson who can find ways to score in any circumstance, and the Pistons have one. In front of their home crowd, the Knicks should take care of business. The pick: Knicks 112, Pistons 107
Pistons vs Knicks betting odds for Game 5
Odds provided by BetMGM as of Tuesday afternoon:
Spread: Knicks by 5½.Over/under: 212½.Moneyline: Knicks -220, Pistons +180.Series winner: Knicks -5000, Pistons +1600.