As is so often the case in the NBA postseason, physicality prevailed in the Detroit Pistons’ series-tying, 100-94, Game 2 victory at Madison Square Garden.
A second-straight comeback wasn’t in the cards for the New York Knicks, who outscored the opposition 27 to 25 in the fourth quarter. The offense ran stale after Josh Hart tied the game at 94 all with 75 seconds remaining.
April 21, 2025: Final
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Veteran guard Dennis Schroder hit a three for the Pistons, leaving 55.7 seconds on the clock for the Knicks. But neither Mikal Bridges nor Jalen Brunson could convert a trio of game-tying shots in the clutch.
The series will travel to Detroit for Games 3 and 4, tied up 1-1, and the underdogs are holding all the momentum between their teeth.
Cade Cunningham finished with 33 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in 42 minutes of play and a drastic turnaround from his Game 1 shortcomings.
The young star sought out his shot early, as opposed to his previously more pass-focused approach, and Detroit was rewarded.
Cunningham and the Pistons emphasized pushing the pace in Game 2 to try to beat the New York defense into their sets. It worked.
OG Anunoby, who was all over Cunningham in Game 1, was a step too slow all night in this one, with screen navigation all but stifling the two-way star’s impact.
On the flip side, Brunson came alive late yet again for New York, scoring 14 of his 37 in the fourth quarter. His ability to switch gears late in games is flat-out uncanny. But the Knicks need everyone else to join him, and frankly, for Brunson to play more like the clutch version of himself earlier on in games.
New York shot 28%, won the three-point and turnover margins, but fell short on the glass and in between the lines everywhere else. Head coach Tom Thibodeau unsurprisingly credited the rebound differential as a main piece of the Knicks’ downfall.
“The rebounding was problematic the whole night, so that was probably the difference in the game,” Thibodeau told reporters in the postgame. “We’ve got to get stops. I thought we had some good looks at threes, and we didn’t make them. So … trust the pass, but we’ve got to rebound.”
The head coach didn’t trot out the double-big lineup featuring Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns in this one, in a game the Pistons were without Isaiah Stewart.
Two days off should give New York and Thibodeau plenty of time to study the film and make the necessary adjustments before Game Three on April 24.
But one thing that can’t be schemed for is adversity, and the Knicks are destined to see plenty of it in a Detroit arena hosting its first playoff game since 2019.
The game is indeed afoot, and this series … well, it’s just getting started.
