Brunson scores 32, Towns adds 27 and Knicks beat Pistons 94-93 to take 3-1 series lead
Knicks beat the Pistons 94-93 on Sunday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.
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New York’s dynamic duo put Detroit on the brink of elimination — with an assist from the officials.
Karl-Anthony Towns made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 46.6 seconds left and finished with 27 points, Jalen Brunson had 32 points and 11 assists and the Knicks beat the Pistons 94-93 on Sunday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.
Tim Hardaway Jr. shot a 3-pointer just before the buzzer and drew some contact from New York’s Josh Hart that wasn’t called a foul at the end of a physical game with few whistles.
David Guthrie, the crew chief for the game, said afterward that the officials made a mistake.
“After postgame review, we observed that Hart makes body contact that is more than marginal to Hardaway Jr. and a foul should have been called,” Guthrie said.
Had the foul been called, Hardaway would have gone to the foul line for three free throws that could have given Detroit the lead.
Instead, the Knicks held on to win after rallying from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Towns, a 7-foot center, made a turnaround fadeaway near the baseline with 1:29 left before connecting on a shot from about 27 feet.
“He has amazing touch,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He shoots the ball like a guard and he has unlimited range.”
Detroit’s Cade Cunningham had 25 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his first playoff triple-double and the third in franchise history, but he missed two shots and turned the ball over in the final 1:07.
“He has to carry us on the offensive end,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “That’s a heavy burden on him, but he has come through so many times.”
Game 5 is Tuesday night in New York.
The Pistons have lost nine straight home playoff games since 2008, equaling an NBA record set by Philadelphia from 1968 to 1971.
The Knicks expected Detroit’s best punch, then came out swinging and had enough fight in the end to win.
New York led by as much as 16 points in the first half before the Pistons went on an 11-0 run to help them pull within seven at halftime.
Detroit outscored the Knicks 28-14 in the third to take a seven-point lead thanks to Cunningham. He had 12 points — making 6 of 7 shots — five assists, five rebounds and three blocks in the quarter.
Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas is the only other player to have a triple-double for the Pistons in a playoff game. The two-time NBA champion, who had a front-row seat for the game, pulled off the feat in 1986 and 1989.
The Knicks had a scare late in the third when Brunson limped off the court and toward the locker room with an apparent right knee injury, but he returned.
“Moments like that you have to take a breath and relax,” Brunson said.
