Knicks CRUSH Pistons, Start to Finish. NY 128 Detroit 98

November 2, 2024 LouV 2024-25 0
Karl-Anthony Towns scores inside against Detroit.

The Knicks Blew the Detroit Pistons off the court from start to finish — looking like the title-contending team that everyone thinks they are and will be — 128-98 on a Friday night in Detroit.

The Knicks have been a title-contending club the last 2 seasons, and are expected to knock on the door again this season. But in the early going they’ve had to adjust to some major changes made during the summer, including the addition of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, and the loss of Julius Randle, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Donte DiVincenzo.

The KAT-Randle trade happened in late September, just before the season started — so it is taking the Knicks some time to get the new team in synch and rhythm.

NY looked fully in synch on this night — and their offense — which now features 3-point assassins in KAT, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby in the front court in addition to Jalen Brunson and Miles McBride in the backcourt — is in high rev.

Jalen Brunson led the attack with 36 points, and shot 6-8 from 3. The Knick starting five went 16-28 from 3. NY raced out to a 39-13 lead and never looked back, leading for most of the game by 30 points.

NY improves to 3-2 on the season; Detroit falls to 1-5.

“It started off our defense,” said coach Tom Thibodeau about the ball movement. “The activity to get into the open floor. And then creating space, attacking space, but doing something for someone else. I think they all shared in running the floor, cutting, and playing off the cut. And when we do that, we create good shots for each another. So we got into a good rhythm. I thought the defense was terrific. But then the willingness to share the ball was huge for us.”

1. NY Jumps Out to 39-13 Lead

The Knicks looked like a juggernaut from the start — passing the ball around with precision and scoring from everywhere.

Brunson started out On Fire, hitting 3 after 3. The combo of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns was unstoppable.

Towns dominated inside and readily passed to the outside. The ball did not stick — it was free moving, with OG Anunoby scoring from the corner or driving, passing to Towns, who passed to Mikal Bridges, who passed to Josh Hart and on and on.

The defense was suffocating.

“They’ve played really good basketball,” added Thibs about Detroit. “They really have; I’ve watched a number of their games. This is a very good team; they’re very dynamic. They can hurt you with their speed; they can hurt you off the dribble. The backcourt is dynamic. The shooting they added in. The activity of their bigs is huge. We were concerned. We knew we had to be ready for the start of the game, and then you have to play 48 minutes against them. If you let your guard down they can put points up quickly on you.”

2. NY Up by 23 at the Half, Up the Lead in the 3rd

The Knicks were up by 23 at the half, and had the focus to come out in the 3rd and move the lead to another level, going up by 30 points.

3. NY Cruises in the 4th

Miles McBride started the 4th with a 3 and Josh Hart added a drive and NY was up by 35. OG Anunoby hit a 3 and NY was up by 38, at 112-74.

The Knicks cruised through the 4th, with Simone Fontecchio, Ronald Holland II, and Wendell Moore Jr. getting some buckets for Detroit.

NY emptied their bench for the last 5 minutes — playing Tyler Kolek, Pacome Dadiet, Jacob Toppin, and Ariel Hukporti.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401704700

 

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