The Knicks’ Game 1 win over the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the NBA playoffs didn’t come without its warts. And although the game will be remembered by New York’s furious fourth-quarter comeback, it’s also a reminder that the team still has a ways to go to reach its final destination.
Still, Saturday night’s win was important for the Knicks who will be right back at it on Monday night for Game 2.
“It’s important, no matter what game it is,” Jalen Brunson said. “When you get a win it does a lot for your confidence, but tomorrow will be a reset then we’ll refocus and then get ready for Game 2.”
Before the series began, one of the biggest questions was how would New York be able to contain Cade Cunningham who torched the Knicks in four regular season games this year.
OG Anunoby got the first crack at the 23-year-old and held Cunningham to 21 points on 8-of-21 shooting after the guard averaged 30.8 points against New York this season and 26.1 points overall. Cunningham did well to involve others with 12 assists, but it was far from his best showing on the court.
But even with their superstar held in check slightly, the Pistons entered the fourth quarter with an eight-point lead — one that evaporated thanks to the Knicks’ 21-0 run showcasing the team’s grit as well as playoff experience (and Detroit’s lack thereof).
“I think we’ve done a great job of fighting through adversity all year,” Karl-Anthony Towns said.
As important as a win Saturday was for New York, head coach Tom Thibodeau knows it’s now on to the next one. He also knows what the Knicks need to work on to finish the best-of-7 series out on top.
“It’s one win and then we gotta reset and get ready for the next one,” he said. “… There’s a lot of things that we can do better.”
Towns understands and echoed his coach’s sentiment after playing in his first postseason game at Madison Square Garden, finishing with 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
“Of course you want to throw the first punch, but it’s only one game,” Towns said. “We gotta continue to execute at a high level and we gotta continue to stay connected if we want to beat a great team.”
The Pistons will make adjustments of their own and it’ll be interesting to see if New York sticks with Anunoby on Cunningham and if Cunningham will be able to respond.
As for role players who stepped up for Detroit that the Knicks should keep an eye on, Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. combined for 64 points. In fact, the Pistons were one bad quarter away from being up 1-0 in the series.
“Gotta give them a lot of credit, they pushed us,” Brunson said. “We just found a way in the fourth quarter to get stops and find a way to win.”