The banged-up New York Knicks go from one extreme to the other during the first two games of their homestand.
After league-leading Boston defeated the Knicks for the fourth time this season on Saturday, New York hosts the league’s worst team, the eight-win Detroit Pistons, on Monday night.
The Knicks have lost six of their past eight games, but it’s been a long time since the Pistons defeated them. The Knicks have won the past 13 meetings with Detroit, including a 118-112 triumph Nov. 30. The Pistons’ last win over the Knicks came Nov. 6, 2019.
With starters Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and OG Anunoby still not close to returning from injuries, the Knicks fell to Celtics 116-102 in the opener of a four-game homestand.
As usual, Jalen Brunson carried the scoring load, piling up 34 points along with nine assists, but the Knicks couldn’t match Boston’s firepower. The Celtics shot 56.8 percent from the field and committed only seven turnovers.
Boston pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Knicks 35-26.
A first-time All-Star this season, Brunson is averaging 32.1 points and 7.1 assists this month but believes he could do more from a leadership standpoint.
The game on Monday will include a subplot. Knicks reserves Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks will be facing the Pistons for the first time since they were traded to New York earlier this month. Quentin Grimes and Evan Fournier were sent to Detroit in that deal.
Grimes made his Pistons debut on Saturday night after recovering from a knee injury. He had five points, four assists, two steals and a block in 26 minutes during a 112-109 loss to Orlando.
The Magic’s Paolo Banchero made a three-point play with 0.8 seconds remaining to hand Detroit its fifth straight defeat.
Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart will serve the final game of a three-game league suspension on Monday.
Stewart was penalized for punching the Phoenix Suns’ Drew Eubanks during a pregame altercation prior to the All-Star break.
