Thank god for Karl-Anthony Towns and Cam Payne.
The New York Knicks struck first blood, beating the Detroit Pistons, 123-112, in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
April 19: Final
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In the fourth quarter, Madison Square Garden was unusually quiet, as the Pistons were on the verge of a massive upset in game one of the first round of the playoffs. Although Detroit’s largest lead in the game was only nine points at times, it felt insurmountable, as the Pistons kept canning three-point after three-point shot.
Jalen Brunson looked like a mere mortal, Josh Hart seemed like he was on the court for cardio purposes only, and then … enter Cam Payne.
Payne scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, sparking a momentum shift that included a 21-0 run that saw the Knicks take the lead and never look back.
Prior to the postseason, there was plenty of chatter about Payne and his spot in Tom Thibodeau’s rotation.
Some fans believed (myself included) that Delon Wright had done enough to usurp Payne due to his defensive versatility. Thibs remained loyal, and Cam Payne rewarded him.
Payne may have played the role of Batman in the fourth quarter, but he had help.
Towns, who faced plenty of “soft” and “deer in headlights” allegations, did his part by pouring in 23 points and adding 11 rebounds and five assists. But it was the five-time All-Star’s defense that had everyone impressed.
Towns tallied four steals, two blocks, and numerous deflections in the fourth quarter, as he looked every bit at home in his first playoff matchup in the Garden.
Circling back to the captain, Brunson had everyone scared when he grabbed his ankle after driving to the hoop late in the third quarter. But true to form, not only did JB not miss any extended time, but he also changed his sneakers and turned up the heat.
The two-time NBA All-Star dropped 12 of his 34 points in the fourth and all but put the kibosh on Malik Beasley’s futile efforts at getting into his head.
When asked about his point guard’s heroic efforts and why he went back to the locker room, Thibodeau told reporters, “I think he grabbed his cape.”
All that said, and putting aside the orange and blue pom poms for a minute … this could be a long series.
The Knicks did a good job of defending Cade Cunningham, who finished with 21 points on 8-of-21 shooting from the floor. The Orange and Blue gave Cunningham a steady diet of hedging, soft doubles, and hard doubles with the task of keeping him out of the paint.
It worked for the most part.
However, Cade’s supporting cast bombed away from the three-point line. The Pistons shot just over 46% from beyond the perimeter, and Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Beasley hit 13 of the Pistons’ 15 three-point shots.
Thibs will need to think long and hard about playing Cade straight up and not forcing his defense to over-rotate to open shooters. Allowing players like Harris, Hardaway Jr., and Beasley to get in a rhythm could be the difference between making this a five-game series or a seven-game series.
And besides defensive strategy, the Knicks will need to figure out how to get more production from their bench. On a night when Duece McBride went scoreless, and if not for Cam Payne’s offensive explosion, the Knicks’ second unit would have produced a whopping eight points!
Lessons that can be learned, film that can be reviewed, yet it all feels much better after a win.
We move on to Game 2 on Monday night.
