The New York Knicks will be seeking their fifth consecutive win on Saturday night when the Detroit Pistons visit Madison Square Garden for the first time this season.
The Knicks have won their last three games by an average of 24 points, beginning their streak with a narrow 99-98 win against the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 29. They followed up with a commanding 118-85 victory over New Orleans and a decisive 121-106 win against the scorching-hot Orlando Magic, ending Orlando’s six-game winning streak. The Magic had won 12 of their previous 13 games before facing the Knicks.
New York maintained their momentum with a 125-101 victory over Charlotte on Thursday, led by Karl-Anthony Towns’ 27 points, OG Anunoby’s 25, and Jalen Brunson’s 24. The Knicks have now won nine of their last 11 games, putting their early 3-4 start to the season behind them.
The Pistons and Knicks previously met in Detroit on Nov. 1, where New York secured a 128-98 win.
Brunson led the Knicks with 36 points on 14-of-22 shooting, including six of eight from three-point range. Anunoby and Towns each scored 21 points, while Mikal Bridges added 15 and Josh Hart 13. The Knicks built a 39-13 lead by the end of the first quarter and kept the game out of reach from there.
Acquired in a blockbuster trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 2, Towns has arguably been the Knicks’ best player this season. The four-time All-Star is averaging team highs of 25.2 points and 13.2 rebounds per game. Brunson is also performing at an All-Star level, averaging 25.1 points and a team-best 7.5 assists per game.
The Pistons fell to 1-5 after their loss to the Knicks on Nov. 1, but they bounced back to win six of their next nine games, getting to within one game of .500 by Nov. 17. Since then, however, Detroit has won just twice in nine games and now sits at 9-15, firmly out of Eastern Conference contention.
Detroit has lost its last three games by double digits, including a 21-point home defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.
The Pistons head into Saturday’s game following a hard-fought 130-120 loss to the Celtics in Boston on Wednesday. Although they outscored Boston after the first quarter, the 15-point deficit they faced early on was too much to overcome.
Cade Cunningham has been the standout performer for the Pistons this season, averaging team highs of 23.6 points and 9.1 assists per game, along with 7.2 rebounds. He trails only Jalen Duren, who averages 9.2 rebounds per game, for the team lead in that category.
Jaden Ivey averages 17.7 points, over four assists, and four rebounds per game for the Pistons. Malik Beasley has also begun to emerge, averaging 15.7 points despite starting only seven of the Pistons’ 24 games so far.
