Knicks vs. Pistons schedule, scores, NBA playoff updates, odds, where to watch: New York takes 2-1 series lead (2025)

🚨Game 3 Final: Knicks 118, Pistons 116

The Knicks are back in front, 2-1, in the best-of-seven series

New York has taken a 2-1 lead in the first-round series, thanks to a bounceback game from Karl-Anthony Towns and several clutch plays by Jalen Brunson, the newly named Clutch Player of the Year.

At MSG on Monday, Towns finished with 10 points (and zero in the second half) in the Knicks' 100-94 loss. Three days later, on the road, he scored a game-high 31 points (10-18 FG, 4-8 3PT, 7-7 FT) in 41 minutes.

Brunson finished with 30 points (9-20 FG, 1-7 3PT, 12-14 FT) in 41 minutes, and he scored 12 of his points in the fourth quarter.

Cade Cunningham and Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 24 points apiece for Detroit. Cunningham added eight rebounds, 11 assists, four steals and two blocks.

The big story: New York's offense, which looked so slow and stagnant in Game 2, came to life in Detroit. Towns got going with some transition 3s early, and the Knicks played with much more pace overall. Can they sustain that in Game 4 on Sunday?

Here come the Pistons (again)

After an easy Karl-Anthony Towns bucket (against a Dennis Schröder switch), Detroit has gone on an 8-0 run: A Cade Cunningham pull-up 3, a Schröder 3 from Cunningham in transition, then a Tobias Harris jumper over Jalen Brunson from the free throw line. With 4:41 left, the Knicks are up 104-101.

Buckle up!

A huge Beasley dunk, but...

The good news for Detroit: Malik Beasley threw down a massive dunk over OG Anunoby:

The bad news: It's still down by eight points with 7:56 left in the fourth quarter.

Beasley was shooting 1 for 9 from the field before that dunk. He made a floater a couple of minutes later, prompting announcer Reggie Miller to suggest the dunk might have gotten him going, but he proceeded to miss a 3-pointer shortly after that.

Jalen Duren picked up his fifth foul early in the final frame, so Paul Reed is getting fourth-quarter minutes, everybody.

After taking Tobias Harris off the dribble and making a floater, Jalen Brunson is up to 20 points on the night.

End of third quarter: Knicks 93, Pistons 83

One quarter to go. The Pistons started the third strong, but didn't make up much ground.

After a quiet Game 2, Karl-Anthony Towns has 25 points (8-15 FG, 4-8 3PT, 5-5 FT) in 30 minutes tonight. All of his made 3s have been in transition -- look how deep this one was:

Detroit's in striking distance. Let's see if it can put some stops together.

It's a game of runs

Unlike Game 1, the Pistons' absolutely terrible stretch took place early enough that they had time to make a comeback. They went on a 14-2 run early in the third quarter, and they trail 75-73 with 5:15 left in the third.

Not the best defense from Jalen Brunson here:

Not the best sequence for Josh Hart here:

Also: Dennis Schröder pressured Brunson and caused an eight-second violation.

It's not all good news for Detroit, though: Tobias Harris, who still hasn't scored tonight, is back on the bench after picking up his fourth foul. Interestingly, the Pistons elected to start the second half with Jalen Duren, not Harris, guarding Karl-Anthony Towns.

This is the sort of thing Towns can do to opposing bigs:

Towns has a game-high 22 points on 7-for-14 shooting.

Halftime: Knicks 66, Pistons 53

Before a Malik Beasley 3 late in the second quarter, the Knicks were on a 21-3 run. Definitely not the way Detroit wanted to end the half!

OG Anunoby has done a little bit of everything on both ends, and heading into the second quarter he has 18 points (6-10 FG, 3-6 3PT, 3-4 FT). Karl-Anthony Towns has 17 points (5-10 FG, 3-6 3PT, 4-4 FT) and Jalen Brunson has 13 points (3-8 FG, 1-3 3PT, 6-6 FT).

Tim Hardaway Jr. leads Detroit in scoring with 18 points (5-6 FG, 5-5 3PT). Cade Cunningham has 13 points (6-15 FG, 1-2 3PT, 0-1 FT) and Dennis Schroder has 13 points (4-6 FG, 3-4 3PT, 2-2 FT).

The Pistons have committed seven live-ball turnovers. New York has committed only two.

Detroit's Tobias Harris hasn't scored a point, but the Knicks went on their big run when he was on the bench with three fouls. New York has looked a lot more comfortable when the Pistons have had a big guarding Towns instead of Harris guarding him.

Here come the Pistons

Look at how the Pistons took their first lead of the game:

That is an amazing pass by Cade Cunningham. And on their next possession, Cunningham found Tim Hardaway Jr. in transition for another 3:

Hardaway has 18 points and has made all five 3s he has attempted. Dennis Schröder is 3 for 4 from deep, too.

Detroit is up 43-41 with 5:51left in the first half.

End of first quarter: Knicks 33, Pistons 27

Heading into the second quarter, the Knicks have a six-point lead thanks to a couple of plays by OG Anunoby late in the first. After driving at Cade Cunningham and drawing a foul, Anunoby split a pair of free throws. Mitchell Robinson rebounded the miss, then missed a layup, but Anunoby was there for a two-handed putback. Anunoby has 10 points (3-6 FG, 1-3 3PT, 3-4 FT) in 12 minutes.

Robinson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Paul Reed all earned technical fouls for an "altercation" with less than a minute left in the quarter. There was some unnecessary pushing and shouting.

The big takeaway so far: New York should feel good about its offense, especially compared to the first two games of the series. Let's see if it can keep this going with Jalen Brunson on the bench.

Interesting start!

About 10minutes into Game 3, a lot has happened! The Pistons missed their first seven field goal attempts and quickly fell behind 8-1, but they came back to tie it at 20. After that, New York went on an 8-0 run. It's now 28-22 for the Knicks with 2:23 left in the first quarter and Dennis Schroder going to the free throw line for two shots after this timeout.

Coming into this game, there was a lot of talk about how to get Karl-Anthony Towns going. One way: Look for him in transition. In the first seven-and-a-half minutes, Towns attempted four trail 3s and made three of them. He has 11 points early.

Once again, it's been physical. Ausar Thompson got a bloody nose from a nasty Towns screen, and Jalen Brunson earned a flagrant foul for hitting Tim Hardaway Jr. in the eye.

Hardaway, by the way, has 12 points -- three 3s, plus three free throws, as Brunson fouled him in the act of shooting a 3.

Cade Cunningham has nine points on 4-for-8 shooting, but, so far, he hasn't looked quite as comfortable as he did in Game 2. He dominated that game.

Best bets for Thursday's Game 3

Pistons snap longest losing streak in NBA postseason history

The Pistons' win over the Knicks on Monday night in Game 2 of their first-round series was significant on multiple fronts. Not only did it even up the matchup at 1-1, but it ended the Pistons' 15-game playoff losing streak, which dated back to 2008 and was the longest losing streak in NBA postseason history.

The last time the Pistons had won a playoff game before Monday was Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics, when the likes of Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups were still running the show, and current rookie guard Ron Holland III was not quite three years old.

Since then, they had lost Games 5 and 6 to the Celtics in the 2008 ECF, gotten swept in the first round three times -- in the 2009 playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers, in the 2016 playoffs by the Cavaliers and in the 2019 playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks -- before losing Game 1 to the Knicks.

🚨 Game 2 Final: Pistons 100, Knicks 94

The Pistons led most of the way, withstood a late Knicks run and held on

The Detroit Pistons secured their first playoff win since 2008 in dramatic fashion on Monday, as they hung on to beat the New York Knicks in Game 2 of their first-round series, which is now all square at 1-1. Their 15 losses in the row in the playoffs was the longest losing streak in NBA postseason history.

The Pistons took the lead late in the first quarter and were in complete control for most of the night. They led by as many as 15 and were still up by double digits well into the fourth quarter. But just like in Game 1, they started to fall apart down the stretch and the Knicks were able to tie things up on a Josh Hart dunk with 1:15 remaining.

Down on the other end, though, Dennis Schroder stepped up with a huge 3-pointer with 56 seconds left to put the Pistons back in front for good. Schroder put up 20 points and three assists, and outscored the Knicks' bench by himself.

Cade Cunningham was the star for the Pistons, finishing with 33 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals on 11 of 21 from the field in a major bounce-back effort after a poor Game 1.

Jalen Brunson had 37 points and seven assists in defeat for the Knicks.

The series will now shift back to Detroit for Game 3 on Thursday.

End of third quarter: Pistons 75, Knicks 67

The Knicks have not played a particularly inspiring game, but they're down by only eight heading into the final frame. It might have been worse if not for this friendly bounce at the end of the shot clock:

The story, right now, is that Cade Cunningham and the Pistons have looked comfortable all night. That could change in the next 12 minutes, though, as they know very well.

Pistons motoring along

Detroit has extended its lead in the third quarter. It's up 68-53 with 4:55 left in the period.

This hasn't been the prettiest game -- there have been some silly turnovers on both sides, and the two teams are shooting a combined 10 for 37 from 3-point range -- but it has been an impressive, professional response by the Pistons after a fourth-quarter meltdown in the opener.

Now let's see if they've learned from what happened on Saturday.

Cade Cunningham, by the way, is up to 26 points on 10-for-17 shooting. Here he is going behind the back and throwing it down on the break:

Halftime: Pistons 55, Knicks 49

New York made up a bit of ground in the second quarter, largely thanks to Jalen Brunson, who scored 13 points in the period (and has a total of 17 on 6-for-11 shooting in 20 minutes). The Knicks went on a 12-4 run in a stretch that spanned 3:14 late in the quarter.

At halftime, Detroit's Cade Cunningham leads all scorers with 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting, plus seven rebounds. He's been extremely aggressive, and after committing four turnovers in the first quarter, he took care of the ball in the second.

Dennis Schroder gave Detroit a lift off the bench with nine points on 3-for-5 shooting in 13 minutes. Paul Reed's six minutes were an adventure -- he turned the ball over twice, blocked a Karl-Anthony Towns 3 and generally wreaked havoc all over the place.

Something to monitor: The Pistons shot 13 for 14 from the free-throw line in the first half, and the Knicks didn't take a single free throw until Brunson got to the line with 17 seconds left in the half. (I'm not implying that New York got a bad whistle or anything, just noting the disparity.)

End of first quarter: Pistons 25, Knicks 18

Pretty strong start for Detroit in Game 2. After one quarter at MSG, the Pistons have a seven-point lead. Cade Cunningham has eight points on 4-for-7 shooting, plus six rebounds. (Four turnovers, though.) Jalen Duren has six points and two offensive boards, including a big one at the very beginning of the game:

The Knicks have missed all eight 3s they have attempted. They didn't do much damage from deep in Game 1, either, but this probably needs to change at some point.

Pistons' Stewart out for Game 2

The Pistons will be without backup big man Isaiah Stewart for Game 2 against the Knicks due to right knee inflammation.

Stewart, who sat out of the team's final two regular season games with the knee issue, played 19 minutes in Game 1 and finished with two points, five rebounds and two blocks. His absence will be a big blow to the Pistons' hopes of evening up the series on Monday and stealing homecourt advantage in the process.

Without Stewart, the Pistons will likely turn to Paul Reed, who did not see the courtin Game 1 and played sparingly for the team during the regular season.

Game 1 Final: Knicks 123, Pistons 112

In the span of 4:17 in the fourth quarter, the Knicks went on a 21-0 run to take control of the game. The Pistons kept turning the ball over, and the Knicks kept finding easy baskets on the break.

It was wild. Detroit had a 98-90 lead about three minutes into the quarter, and then it evaporated in a flash. If you were scared that the Pistons' relative inexperience might show up at an inopportune time, this was your worst nightmare.

Jalen Brunson finished with a game-high 34 points on 12-for-27 shooting and eight assists for the Knicks. OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns added 23 points apiece. Reserve guard Cam Payne scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth, including two 3s and a three-point play.

Tobias Harris finished with a team-high 23 points for the Pistons, but 22 of them came in the first half. Cade Cunningham had 21 points on 8-for-21 shooting and 12 assists in his first playoff game, but turned the ball over six times.

Detroit can clearly play with New York. Maybe that's encouraging. But this was a massive missed opportunity.

End of third quarter: Pistons 91, Knicks 83

Detroit put up 36 points in the third quarter, and it created some separation with a 10-3 spurt that started around the 2:00 mark. My favorite moment came much earlier than that, though -- look at this supersonic spin move by Ausar Thompson:

Dennis Schroder also had a mean block on Jalen Brunson, and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 12 of his 19 points in the third (on 4-for-4 shooting).

Detroit should feel great heading into the fourth, but can this young team close out Game 1 on the road? We'll find out.

Halftime: Knicks 57, Pistons 55

The final 50 seconds of the first half was pretty eventful. First, Pistons star Cade Cunningham picked up his third foul trying to cut off OG Anunoby's baseline drive. After that, Detroit's Dennis Schroder turned the ball over twice. The first one led to a 3 from Anunoby, the second to a layup by Jalen Brunson.

For the Pistons, it looked like an absolutely awful way to end the half ... but then Tobias Harris hit a pull-up 3 at the buzzer.

At halftime, Harris has a game-high 22 points (on 7-for-10 shooting, 4-for-5 from deep) in 22 minutes. Malik Beasley has 12 points off the bench -- four 3s, one shimmy. Cade Cunningham hasn't been particularly efficient in his first ever playoff game (six points on 3-for-10 shooting) but he's made a few tough shots over Anunoby and Bridges and he has six assists.

Anunoby leads New York with 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting. Brunson has 11 points on 4-for-15 shooting and three assists.

This has been a tough, physical, back-and-forth game. The matchups have been interesting -- Detroit put Harris on Karl-Anthony Towns, Ausar Thompson on Brunson and Jalen Duren on Josh Hart to start the game. The Knicks put Anunoby on Cunningham and Bridges on Harris.

Now that's big

Knicks centers Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson only played 47 minutes together (in 10 games) during the regular season. New York has gone to the double-big lineup in the second quarter against Detroit, though, and it could be a real factor in this series.

With about four minutes left in the first half, Jalen Brunson missed a floater but Robinson was there for a nasty putback dunk:

Yes, Spike Lee loved it. So did the whole crowd at MSG.

Robinson has three offensive boards in 11 minutes.

Towns, by the way, has 10 points (on 4-for-6 shooting), six rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes. He's done most of his damage against Tobias Harris, as Detroit decided to use him as its primary defender against Towns.

OG, oh my!

Knicks forward OG Anunoby ended the first quarter of Game 1 against the Pistons by making a midrange jumper over Dennis Schroder. That shot gave him 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting. Anunoby took on a bigger offensive role late in the season when Jalen Brunson was out of the lineup, but I'm not sure I expected him to start the playoffs with a double-digit quarter.

It's 27-27 heading into the second quarter. Tobias Harris leads the Pistons with nine points on 4-for-5 shooting. It's been a bit of a sloppy start, but it's been competitive.

Best bets for Saturday's Game 1