Detroit Pistons snap NBA-record postseason losing streak with Game 2 win over New York Knicks
Cade Cunningham led the Detroit Pistons to their first playoff win in 17 years.
By Matias Grez, CNN
(CNN) — The Detroit Pistons finally ended their NBA-record 15-game losing streak in the postseason, beating the New York Knicks 100-94 at Madison Square Garden to level the first round series at 1-1.
Detroit, appearing in the postseason for the first time since 2019, last earned a playoff win in Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference finals against the eventual champion Boston Celtics. The Pistons were then swept in the first round of the playoffs in 2009, 2016 and 2019.
“It’s a great feeling,” Pistons star guard Cade Cunningham said, per the Associated Press. “It feels good to represent the city like we did tonight.
“It’s something that the city been waiting on for a long time, so we feel good about it and we’re ready to get back to the crib and perform in front of them.”
The Pistons will likely have been experiencing unwelcome déjà vu on Monday night when the Knicks, as they did in Game 1, surged back from an eight-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to level the score.
However, the Pistons didn’t crumble this time around and Dennis Schröder’s huge three-pointer gave Detroit a 97-94 lead with just 55 seconds remaining, before the German guard and Jalen Duren sealed the win with free throws.
“We found a way to maintain our poise and collect ourselves in a really similar situation,” Cunningham said, per ESPN. “We responded really well. I thought it was a great opportunity for us to respond and have a better outcome.”
Cunningham finished 33 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals, with Schröder chipping in 20 points.
The teams will next face off on Thursday in Detroit for Game 3.
“We got bigger things we’re out here for,” Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff said. “So our focus, and that’s why our guys have been able to grow and be consistent because they just think about the now and I thought they did a great job tonight of staying in the moment and doing what we needed to do.”
For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 37 points to go with seven assists. Mikal Bridges added 19, but it was a quiet night for Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby, who finished with 10 points apiece.
Remarkably, Towns didn’t even attempt a shot in the entire fourth quarter, despite playing all 12 minutes.
After the game, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau was clearly frustrated by the number of free-throws awarded to both teams, with the final total sitting at 34-19 in the Pistons’ favor.
“Huge discrepancy in free throws,” he said. “Huge. I don’t understand how, on one side, there are direct line drives with contact that just aren’t being called. Look, I really don’t give a crap how they call the game as long as it’s consistent on both sides.
“But if Cunningham’s driving, and there’s marginal contact that gets him to the line, then Jalen (Brunson) should be getting to the line.”
The-CNN-Wire
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