NBA PLAYOFFS
NEW YORK — For the New York Knicks, it was better late than never.
The Knicks, who went just 6-24 in the regular season when trailing at the start of the fourth quarter, erased an eight-point deficit in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Detroit Pistons to escape with a 123-112 victory.
New York ripped off a 21-0 run midway through the fourth quarter as Detroit, a team with many of its players making postseason debuts, imploded. During that stretch, the Pistons missed 10 consecutive shots.
Detroit had been 38-6 this season when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter. But it was an inauspicious sign for the Pistons when they were called for a five-second violation on the inbounds pass to start the period — and they followed that up with a shot clock violation on the following possession.
Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson, who started the game slowly, led all players with 34 points on 12-of-27 shooting. New York also got massive performances from center Karl-Anthony Towns (23 points and 11 rebounds) and forward OG Anunoby (23 points).
But it was New York’s collective defensive intensity in the fourth quarter that fueled its explosive run.
The Knicks also tried to make Pistons players other than All-Star guard Cade Cunningham beat them. And, for the first three quarters, it didn’t matter. Veteran role players Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley and Dennis Schröder combined to score 52 points in the game. But once Detroit’s shots stopped falling, neither Cunningham nor any of the other Pistons could stop the bleeding; the Pistons committed eight turnovers in the final quarter.
Cunningham finished the game with 21 points, but led all players with 12 assists.
Game 2 of the series will be played here Monday night.
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