Knicks ride 21-0 fourth-quarter run in comeback Game 1 win over Pistons
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) takes the shot over Detroit Pistons guard Dennis Schroder (17) in the second quarter of Game 1 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Saturday, April 19, 2025. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Late in the third quarter, with things already going wrong for the Knicks, Jalen Brunson drove the lane and drew a foul on Detroit’s Dennis Schroder but came down on Schroder’s foot, tumbling under the basket and immediately grabbing at his right ankle.
And suddenly the party that was going on inside and outside of Madison Square Garden went silent.
Brunson didn’t leave the game. He still could walk, so he wasn’t going to even look to the bench for coach Tom Thibodeau to inquire about taking him off the floor.
When the quarter ended, Brunson left the bench and went down the tunnel, prompting nervous glances from the 19,812 in attendance. But with 9:06 left, he returned with sneakers changed and headed straight to the scorer’s table to report in.
Beginning with the three-point play by Cam Payne that stopped the clock to allow Brunson to enter the game, the Knicks went on a 21-0 run that had the Garden shaking and turned the game around, leading to a 123-112 win over the Pistons in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Brunson finished with 34 points, tying Willis Reed for the second-most postseason 30-point games (12) in franchise history.
Asked about Brunson going to the back, Thibodeau said, “I think he grabbed his cape.”
Brunson described it differently, as you might expect. “I didn’t go to the locker room,” he said. “I wasn’t on the bench. Yes, I changed sneakers.”
Asked if that was the key, he said, “No, the key was Cam Payne.”
The Knicks turned a 98-90 deficit into a 111-98 lead, holding the Pistons scoreless for 4:41, and scored 40 points in the fourth quarter. Brunson scored 12 points and Payne had 11 of his 14 in the period.
The Knicks survived an injury scare as well as a scare from the young and inexperienced Pistons, who won three of their four regular-season meetings but haven’t won a postseason game since 2008.
With Brunson struggling with his shot early and their physical assault frustrating the Knicks, the Pistons seemed in control, but the surrounding cast put in place to ease the load on Brunson did enough to hold things in place until he got going.
“I didn’t even know he went to the locker room,” Josh Hart said. When it was pointed out that Thibodeau said he went for his cape, he added, “I don’t know about that. He’s a warrior. He’s going to battle for us. Obviously, he’s playing through the ankle. Can’t say enough about his toughness, his grit. Fourth quarter, end of the game, obviously he made plays for us.”
OG Anunoby was a dominant force, guarding Detroit’s Cade Cunningham (21 points and 8-for-21 shooting) and scoring 23 points. Towns had 23 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots.
And Payne, the ninth player into the game for the Knicks, provided a spark off the bench. He shot 5-for-7 from the field (including 3-for-5 from three-point range) and got the crowd back into the game when it was going silent as Detroit built a nine-point third-quarter lead.
The Knicks still trailed 98-92 when Brunson made his way back onto the floor with 9:06 left in the game, but he immediately made an impact, hitting a short runner. And the Knicks kept coming, tying the score on Payne’s three-pointer and taking the lead as Brunson hit a tough driving layup.
The Pistons led 91-83 after three quarters when Brunson went back to the locker room, but Detroit committed a five-second inbounds violation to start the period. After Towns hit a tough baseline jumper, the Knicks forced the Pistons into a 24-second violation. Towns then drained a three-pointer and the lead was down to 91-88.
Brunson missed 11 of his first 13 shots before finally hitting a foul-line jumper and adding a layup just ahead of the halftime buzzer. However, it wasn’t close enough to the buzzer, as Tobias Harris got off a three-pointer that swished through with two-tenths of a second left. But the Knicks still managed to hold a 57-55 lead at the break thanks to the play of Anunoby, Towns and Mitchell Robinson.
Anunoby had 19 points and shot 6-for-11 in the half, but much more impressive was his defensive performance against Cunningham. Anunoby piled up two blocks and a steal. Given the task of guarding the Pistons’ point guard, he rarely gave him a moment’s rest. Cunningham hit only one field goal with Anunoby on him and finished the half 3-for-10 for six points with three fouls.
Harris, who finished with 25 points, put up 22 points in the first half and shot 7-for-10, scoring twice when Anunoby was defending him.
The game was physical from the very start, with the Pistons attempting to impose the bully-ball style that got them this far on the Knicks. While it caused Detroit some foul trouble, the whistle wasn’t going to blow on every shot.
“I felt like they had a good game plan,” Brunson said. “And I just had to reset. And I found a way to get going in the second half. Teammates have the utmost confidence in me and I appreciate that to the fullest. So I just had to find a way to reset and regain composure.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
