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The championship hangover is over. After the New York Knicks slumped to an 0-3 start and the second-worst offensive rating in the NBA, there was a lot of chatter about whether the team had spent too much time celebrating last season’s victory. They had already lost to the 76ers, Magic, and Celtics, and the Pistons were coming to town to make it four Eastern Conference foes to topple the champs. Only, the Knicks weren’t buying that narrative, shaking off a slow start en route to a dominant 111-97 win over the Pistons.
Coming into Tuesday’s showdown at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks had struggled against the Pistons in their recent contests. Detroit swept New York in the 2025-26 regular season by an average margin of 28 points, and had won five straight regular-season meetings. When Detroit built a 13-point first quarter lead, it seemed like the trend was continuing. The Pistons scored 38 points in the quarter on 14 of 23 from the field (60.9%) and 4-of-10 from beyond the arc. Cade Cunningham, who has enjoyed plenty of success against the Knicks, got off to a fast start, scoring nine points with six assists and four rebounds in the first quarter.
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Then the game changed in a heartbeat. The Knicks tightened up defensively, holding the Pistons to just 12 second-quarter points to take a 51-50 lead at the half. The Pistons would never lead again as the Knicks built their advantage to 25 points by the end of the third quarter. Some sloppy play from the Knicks in the fourth allowed the Pistons to get the game within 11 points, but they would never cut it to single digits.
Cunningham, who averaged 27.3 points, 11 assists, and 5.3 rebounds last year in the regular season versus the Knicks, finished with a strong performance for the Pistons, scoring 19 points, while chipping in nine rebounds and eight assists. Paul Reed, who has been filling in for the injured Jalen Duren, led the team with 22 points while also securing nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Ausar Thompson, who returned from injury, finished with 11 points and six rebounds before fouling out.
The Knicks were led by 27 points from…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/knicks-shake-off-slow-start-030346722.html
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Publish date : 2026-10-28 03:03:00
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