The Detroit Pistons expelled 17 years of postseason frustration on April 21, defeating the New York Knicks 100-94 at Madison Square Garden.
It was their first playoff victory since 2008.
The win snapped the longest active playoff win drought in NBA history and evened their first-round series at 1-1.
Cade Cunningham, the franchise cornerstone playing in his postseason debut, delivered a career-defining performance with 33 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. His clutch free throws with 3.6 seconds left sealed the victory, ending a night 11-of-21 from the field and 10-of-12 at the line.
“It is a great feeling,” Cunningham said. “It is something that the city has been waiting on for a long time.”
However, Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff doesn’t want the win to be the focal point of their playoff performance.
“We have bigger things we are out here for,” Bickerstaff said. “I thought they did a great job staying in the moment and doing what they need to do.”
The Pistons dominated early, building a 15-point lead in the third frame behind a balanced attack. Dennis Schröder added 20 points off the bench, including a critical fourth-quarter three-pointer to stifle a Knicks rally.
Tobias Harris chipped in 15 points and 13 rebounds. Detroit’s defense held New York to 42% shooting and forced 14 turnovers, converting them into 19 points.
New York’s Jalen Brunson led the contest with a game-high 37 points, but the Knicks’ supporting cast struggled.
Mikal Bridges (19 points) and OG Anunoby (10 points) combined to shoot 8-of-24 from the field.
The Knicks’ late push, highlighted by a Josh Hart dunk to tie the game at 94 with 1:15 remaining, fell short as Detroit closed on a 6-0 run.
Detroit had not won a playoff game since May 26, 2008, a 94-75 victory over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Since then, the franchise endured 12 consecutive postseason losses and a 13-year playoff absence.
Detroit set the tone early, outscoring New York 25-18 in the first quarter behind Cunningham’s eight points. The Knicks narrowed the gap to 55-49 by halftime, but the Pistons’ bench, led by Schröder and Malik Beasley (nine points), maintained control.
A 13-2 third-quarter run gave Detroit its largest lead at 68-53, punctuated by Jalen Duren’s emphatic block on Brunson.
New York clawed back in the fourth, capitalizing on Pistons turnovers to tie the game. But Schröder’s corner three with 57 seconds left and Cunningham’s late free throws sealed the win.
Game 3 takes place at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on April 24 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Contact Multi-Media & Senior Sports Reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846. Follow him on X @3Noral. For more NBA Playoffs news, click here.
Noral Parham is the multi-media & senior sports reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder, one of the oldest Black publications in the country. Parham has worked with various leagues to provide a diverse perspective in sports, including the Big Ten, Big East, IHSAA, IndyCar, MLB, NHRA, NFL, NBA, WNBA, WWE and the Olympics. Prior to joining the Recorder, Parham served as the community advocate of the MLK Center in Indianapolis and senior copywriter for an e-commerce and marketing firm in Denver.
