Knicks complete last-minute comeback, Pistons eliminated from playoffs with Game 6 loss
It’s 113-111 as the Knicks inbound the ball. Brunson pulls up and misses the jumper but Bridges tips it in for the tie. Cunningham drives but can’t lay it in as the Knicks call their last timeout with 20 seconds left. Brunson has the ball guarded by Thompson, as Thompson slips and Brunson knocks down the open three to give New York a 116-113 lead with just over four seconds remaining. Cunningham’s pass to an open Beasley slips and goes out of bounds, and that’s the series as the Knicks win. (End of game)
After the Knicks miss, good ball movement leads to a Hardaway midrange jumper, but Brunson hits the layup plus the foul on Schröder, as the Pistons again challenge the call but this time it stands as Brunson makes the and-one free throw. It’s a four-point lead for the Pistons with over two minutes remaining. After a missed lob attempt from Duren, Brunson gets free down low and lays it in. Cunningham throws a bad in-bounds pass as Duren fouls Towns, with Towns making the first but missing the second as the Pistons can’t recover the rebound. Brunson can’t get free from Thompson for a shot clock violation as there’s less than a minute left, then Towns fouls out as Duren heads to the line. Duren barely misses the first but hits the second as New York calls timeout with 49 seconds left.
Pistons are on a 11-0 run, as their defense forces a bad pass from Towns, then Cunningham hits the fadeaway over Anunoby for a Pistons lead. On the other end, Brunson falls and Hardaway is called for the foul, and after a challenge from Detroit the call is reversed and a jump ball is called at half court. Knicks keep possession, as Brunson finds Hart for the game-tying layup. Cunningham barely gets it inside to Duren for the easy layup, then Thompson forces a late steal and lays it in. Knicks try to push the pace, but Towns is called for an offensive foul on a charge on Thompson for his fifth foul, and Thompson heads to the line as he misses the first but makes the second. After the attempts, Thompson is called for a reach-in foul on Brunson as both teams trade misses before a timeout is called with 3:13 remaining.
Cunningham gets a steal off of McBride, who them commits a foul on Duren as the Pistons are now in the bonus for the rest of the game. Duren again makes both of his free throws as the Pistons have cut the led to five and LCA gets loud again. Knicks miss back-to-back shots, then Hardaway makes a big three over Brunson, then another Pistons steal leads to a Thompson spin and layup to tie the game at 103-103 as the Knicks call timeout again. (6:06)
(Start of 4th Quarter) 12 minutes left in the season unless the Pistons can pull off a comeback, and they start with Harris making a close shot, but Cameron Payne drives and makes a layup to answer. Both teams trade misses until Duren is fouled by Payne, as the center makes both free throws. Anunoby hits a layup plus the foul on the other end while making the free throw, but Duren answers with a layup and a foul on his own. Towns is called for his fourth foul as Duren makes the and-one free throw, then the Pistons somehow let Brunson grab his own miss as he lays it in. Cunningham drives and makes a tough layup, then after a Brunson miss, Duren finds Thompson near the basket for a dunk as the Knicks call for time. (7:40)
Knicks again pull away, hold 96-85 lead after three quarters of action in Game 6
Knicks turn the ball over, leading to a fastbreak for the Pistons where Reed is fouled under the basket, making both free throws. Schröder fouls Brunson on another drive, as he makes the first free throw before a short timeout is called with 3:10 left in the third. Brunson makes the second, then after Schröder can’t make the layup, Brunson is fouled again and splits his free throws as the second one just rolls out. The Pistons run immediately, leading to a Cunningham layup, but again it’s Brunson making a tough jumper over Schröder just like he’s done all series long. Anunoby is called for a foul on Schröder, which goes under review after a Knicks challenge, but the call stands and Schröder makes both free throws. Pistons force a bad pass turnover, then Towns fouls Duren while both players fight for a rebound as Duren makes both free throws. Knicks get an offensive rebound which leads to a Bridges three, then Bridges fouls Beasley as Beasley hits his free throws. Brunson misses the layup but Hart skies in for a dunk for the last points of the quarter. (End of 3rd Quarter)
Cunningham gets free off a screen and lays it, then Hart draws a foul on Duren which is his fourth foul. Hart makes both free throws, then Brunson finds Bridges inside with a nice pass for the layup. Anunoby fouls Thompson with the shot clock winding down, as Thompson again makes both free throws. Anunoby knocks down another corner three, then Harris drives and throws down the two-handed dunk but Brunson quickly answers with a driving floater. Schröder’s three goes in and out as the shot clock winds down, then the Pistons foul Robinson as the Knicks player misses both free throws. Beasley throws a wild turnover as Robinson is fouled again, but this time he makes one of the two free throws. Harris loses the ball on a layup, leading to Bridges dunking on Cunningham, but Cunningham answers with a jumper as the Knicks call a timeout. (3:45)
(Start of 3rd Quarter) Cunningham can’t hit the three to start the third quarter, then Bridges drives and makes the layup to tie the game. Towns catches the Brunson miss for an easy putback and a Knicks lead, then Bridges draws Duren’s second foul of the game to hit both free throws. Hardaway misses another three but Thompson is there to lay it in, then Hart gets his fourth foul on contact on Thompson, making both free throws this time. Hart hits a three, then Cunningham makes a tough turnaround jumper to answer. Anunoby is fouled on two separate possessions, making three of four free throw attempts. After an offensive foul on Duren, Brunson nails the three as the Pistons call for time. (8:00)
Beasley hits five 3-pointers in second quarter, helps Pistons take 61-59 halftime lead
Cunningham is called for the foul on Brunson, who makes both free throws out of the timeout. After that, Harris pulls up and hits the jumper over Hart plus the foul, making the and-one free throw. Following a Knicks miss, Schröder drives and lays it in, then the Pistons force a Knicks turnover with 1:10 left in the second quarter. Cunningham drives on Anunoby and floats it in for the Pistons’ first lead of the night. Duren forces a turnover on a Brunson drive, but after a Schröder miss Anunoby lobs it up for a Bridges layup. Towns gets away with a travel but Anunoby steps out of bounds with 2.4 seconds left, giving Beasley enough time to make a tough fading away three as the buzzer sounds. (Halftime)
Brunson makes the technical free throw, as Harris posts up on Josh Hart and makes the midrange shot. Hart is then fouled inside by Paul Reed and makes both free throws, but Duren gets the ball under the rim and lays it in. Following that, it’s Brunson again making another jumper from the baseline, then after trading misses Beasley hits the corner three and does his signature shimmy. Cunningham throws it up to Duren for the layup plus the foul as this crowd is loud, with the Pistons cutting it to a three-point deficit after Duren makes the and-one free throw. After another Knicks miss, Beasley hits yet another three to tie the game, but it’s short-lived as Hart draws another foul and knocks down both free throws. Duren floats it in for another tie, but Bridges breaks it with a turnaround shot over Schröder. Anunoby reaches in for a foul on Hardaway, but on the other end Hart lobs it up to Anunoby for the dunk. Brunson is fouled on a drive as the Pistons call a timeout. (2:08)
(Start of 2nd Quarter) Pistons start with an easy dunk for Thompson, then Thompson blocks Mitchell Robinson on defense and forces a turnover. Thompson heads to line and splits his free throws, a common theme in this playoff series for him so far. Anunoby hits the open three but the Thompson draws a quick foul on the other end from Towns. Thompson again splits his makes at the free throw line, then Towns makes a jumper. Dennis Schröder hits a three, then Towns dunks it down, but Beasley answers with another three. After Beasley is called for a charge, the Pistons turn a Knicks turnover into another Beasley three to make it a single-digit lead. Beasley is called for a foul on McBride, then after a timeout is called J.B. Bickerstaff heads out to the court and is assessed a technical foul. (8:12)
Brunson starts lights-out, Knicks take huge 37-23 lead after first quarter
After the first Pistons timeout, the Knicks go on a big run and take a commanding 28-15 run to force another Pistons timeout with 4:16 left in the first quarter. After that timeout, Cunningham makes a layup, then goes to the line and makes both free throws. After an Anunoby miss, Cunningham again heads to the line but this time makes just one of two free throw attempts. Brunson again makes a floater, but Malik Beasley answers and makes his first 3-point attempt of the game. Brunson can’t be stopped as he hits another floater to make it 13 first-quarter points, then Bridges makes a jumper for another double-digit Knicks lead. Miles McBride makes the open three as the Knicks take a 37-23 lead after the opening quarter. (End of 1st Quarter)
Jalen Brunson makes a pull-up jumper for the first made shot of the night, then Mikal Bridges follows up with a jumper for an early 4-0 lead. Cade Cunningham makes a floater as Jalen Duren is called for a three second violation, with Karl-Anthony Towns making the technical free throw. Tim Hardaway Jr. makes his first shot of the night, then OG Anunoby goes to the line and makes both free throws after a foul by Ausar Thompson. After Duren makes a shot, Brunson answers with a turnaround jumper over Cunningham. Tobias Harris tips in a missed shot, but Anunoby answers with a three off an offensive rebound for a Pistons timeout. (8:02)
Tip-off
It’s win or their season is over for the Pistons, as they take on the Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference first round. New York looks to take care of Detroit and move on to face the Celtics in the Semifinals, but they’ll need to do it in a loud and energetic Little Caesars Arena. The Knicks win the opening tip-off.
Preview
The Pistons come back to Little Caesars Arena one more time, hoping that home court can propel them to another victory against the Knicks in Game 6 of this Eastern Conference first-round matchup.
It took another hard-fought effort, but the Pistons proved they weren’t fazed by their prior losses in this series, going into Madison Square Garden and defeating the Knicks 106-103 in Game 5 to guarantee Detroit fans one more home game.
Now with the series at 3-2 in favor of New York, Detroit is trying to do what few teams in American professional sports have accomplished: Overcoming a 3-1 series deficit. But they’ll need to win at home for the first time in this series just to force a Game 7, as their two previous home playoff games were losses with a combined margin of just three points.
Follow along here for live updates from Detroit News contributor Kameron Goodwill.
Pistons vs. Knicks
(Best-of-7; x-if necessary)
Knicks wins 4-2
Game 1:Â New York, 123-112
Game 2:Â Detroit, 100-94
Game 3:Â New York, 118-116
Game 4:Â New York, 94-93
Tuesday:Â Detroit, 106-103
Thursday:Â New York 116-113
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