Under pressure until the end, New York ensured the essentials this night against Detroit, clinching a sixth victory under the impetus of Jalen Brunson (26 points, 7 assists), RJ Barrett (30 points) and Julius Randle ( 21 points, 8 rebounds).
The Pistons tied with the Knicks in the first quarter, including two baskets from Killian Hayes to help take the lead (16-20). Enough to push RJ Barrett to revolt, the Canadian having chained a 3-pointer, four shots and a service for Julius Randle to fuel a 9-0.
New York later confirmed with Isaiah Hartenstein twice and Obi Toppin at 3-point, before RJ Barrett drove the point home from afar as well (42-31). The Brunson-Grimes-Randle trio then plunged the Pistons to -15 (62-47), this time forcing Alec Burks, Killian Hayes from afar and Bojan Bogdanovic to react to limit the damage shortly before the break (68-58).
The Brunson-Barrett-Randle triplet kept Detroit at a safe distance on the return from the locker room but Saddiq Bey’s teammates refused to capitulate. After a good effort from Hamidou Diallo at the end of the third quarter (94-80), Alec Burks and Jaden Ivey made their contribution to rekindle hope, especially when the latter found Hamidou Diallo to drive and carry the mark at 96-89.
Isaiah Livers’ two 3-point missiles kept the pressure on (101-95) until Jalen Brunson responded with two baskets in a row. Julius Randle and RJ Barrett brought their stone to the building to iron the Knicks to +10 (109-99).
In the final, Jalen Brunson’s 2+1 and RJ Barrett’s 3-pointer got the better of Detroit’s good will, finally beating 121-112 after falling to -4 in the last two minutes of the game.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The Pistons can’t do it on the outside. So close, and at the same time so far, the Pistons still have their counter blocked at zero away wins since the start of the season in seven trips. Despite the absence of Cade Cunningham, Detroit has nevertheless made a good figure, but the overall content remains insufficient to hope to bring success far from its bases.
– New York relies on its “Big Three”. The three players were the engine of their team this night. The association of profiles worked well between Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett and Julius Randle, despite the latter’s lack of skill (8/18 to 0/7 from a distance). It now remains to make the most of the bench, like privates Derrick Rose and Evan Fournier, who were a bit rough this night.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Jalen Brunson. Granted, RJ Barrett slammed 30 points, but the New York point guard has truly been a boss on the court. With important baskets in key moments, 7 assists to shine his teammates but also 0 lost ball in 32 minutes spent on the field. Jalen Brunson is gradually confirming his new status at “Big Apple”.
✅ Bojan Bogdanovic. On the strength of his start to the season, the Croatian is aggressive and efficient. He only lacked the exterior address to be credited with a new performance of choice. He was expected to score in the absence of Cade Cunningham and responded present.
✅ ⛔️Killian Hayes. Good (11 points, 7 assists) and less good (4/12 shooting, including 1/6 from afar, 4 lost balls) for the Frenchman who also had the opportunity to show himself in the absence of Cade Cunningham with 34 minutes on the clock.
⛔️ Saddiq Bey. We expected more from him, however, in the configuration of the Pistons tonight. Paradoxically, Saddiq Bey tends to fade away at the start of the season, which was again the case in this match.
THE FOLLOWING
Knicks (6-6): short break for the group from New York who will not play again until Tuesday evening, in Utah (03:00)
Plungers (3-10): back-to-back for Detroit with the reception of Boston from tonight (01:00)
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