Schroder Ignites Pistons; Lifts Them with 3 in Final Minute. Detroit 100 NY 94

April 22, 2025 LouV 2024-25 0

Dennis Schroder was a demon all night, igniting the Pistons to a 15-point lead in the 3rd quarter, before the Knicks came back in the 4th to tie the game at 94-94 with a minute left.

But Schroder hit a big 3 with 55 seconds left, and down the other end Jalen Brunson and then Mikal Bridges both missed 3’s — Brunson with 48 seconds left and Bridges with 11 seconds left — and that was ballgame.

Schroder finished with 20 points off the bench on 6-10 shooting (3-5 from 3) and 5-6 from the free throw line in 29 minutes, plus a Very physical defense on Jalen Brunson.

Brunson was undeterred by that physical D, scoring 37 pts (on 12-27 shooting, 4-12 from 3, and 9-11 in free throws) with 7 assists. He led the Knicks’ comeback in the 4th. Bridges was hot throughout most of the game — scoring 19 pts on 8-18 shooting (3-11 from 3), but missed shots in the final few minutes.

It was a physical contest as the refs were ‘letting them play” — at least when the Knicks had the ball.  Detroit got a lot more calls — going 28-34 from the free throw line, to the Knicks’ 16-19. Brunson was getting mauled by Shroeder or Austin Thompson and was not getting calls most of the time — even with the 11 free throws he got. Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 33 pts on 11-21 shooting and 10-12 from the free throw line, with 12 assists.

The Knicks were also out-rebounded 48-34. Jalen Duren had 12 pts and 13 rebounds.

Karl-Anthony Towns somehow didn’t take a shot in the 4th quarter, finishing with 10 pts on 5-11 shooting (0-2 from 3). He was healthy; Detroit was just bottling him up with Jalen Duren and the Knicks were attacking primarily with Brunson and Bridges.

“The rebounding was problematic the whole night; that was probably the difference in the game,” said coach Tom Thibodeau afterwards. “Gotta get stops; I thought we had some good looks at 3’s but we didn’t make. So trust the pass. But we gotta rebound.”

“Huge discrepancy in free throws,” added Thibs. “Huge. I gotta take a look at that. I don’t understand how on one side — you talk about direct-line drives, the guy’s getting fouled and it’s not being called. And look — I really don’t give a crap how they call the game, as long as it’s consistent on both sides. If Cunningham is driving and there’s marginal contact and he’s getting to the line, then Jalen deserves to the line. It’s really that simple.”

The 7-game series is tied 1-1 and now goes back to Detroit.

1. Pistons Shake Off Last Game; Take 25-17 Lead After 1

The Pistons shook off the 21-pt run the Knicks made at the end of game 1 to win at a raucous Madison Square Garden, and came out with aggression and poise.

Mikal Bridges and KAT were doing the early scoring for NY, as was Brunson.

But Detroit scored the last 6 points of the 1st quarter, 4 on free throws, to turn a 19-18 lead into a 25-17 lead after 1.

Payne in Really Early Foul Trouble

Cameron Payne — the hero off the bench in game 1 — came into the game with 1:39 left in the 1st quarter and immediately picked up 3 quick fouls — an offensive foul, and 2 defensive fouls. It would send him back to the bench and make him a non factor for the whole game. He finished with 0 pts in 4 minutes — never taking a shot.

Landry Shamet also had 0 pts in 5 minutes. Miles McBride had 8 pts on 3-7 shooting in 13 minutes. Mitchell Robinson had 7 rebounds in 20 minutes.

2. Pistons Lead 55-49 At the Half

Dennis Schroder meanwhile was igniting Detroit, as they pushed the lead to 12 points early in the 2nd quarter. Malik Beasley hit a 3, Schroder hit a 3, Tobias Harris scored 2 buckets inside, and Cade Cunningham hit a 3 and Detroit was up 42-30 with 7 minutes left in the quarter.

Detroit was getting offensive rebounds and hitting shots while the Knicks, weren’t.

Knicks Do a Defensive Job on Beasley & Hardaway

The Knicks however, clamped down on Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway, who killed them from 3 the prior game. Despite hitting the 3 early in the 2nd quarter, Beasley would finish 1-8 from 3 (2-9 overall) for 9 pts in 30 minutes off the bench, while Hardaway Jr. shot 0-6 from 3 (0-8 overall) in 21 minutes.

Mikal Bridges hit a deuce and a 3 late in the half to pull NY back within 5. Brunson free throws pulled NY back within 4, but a Cade Cunningham drive with 2 seconds left gave Detroit a 55-49 lead at the half.

3. Pistons Go Up 15 Late in the 3rd

And then Detroit pulled away again midway thru the 3rd. The Knicks were down 57-53 with 9 minutes left in the quarter when Detroit went on an 11-0 run to take a 15-pt lead.

It came on free throws by Auser Thompson and Tobias Harris, a Cunningham floater and a Cunningham dunk, and a Paul Reed drive. Detroit 68 NY 53.

4. NY Pulls Within 8 Entering 4th

NY fought back — OG Anunoby with a 9-footer and Mikal Bridges with a 3 to slice the deficit to 10 pts.

Miles McBride hit a 3, and Brunson hit a deuce and NY pulled to within 7. Cade Cunningham made 1 of 2 free throws to make it a 75-67 game Detroit, heading into the 4th.

5. NY Down 10 with 5 Minutes Left, Rally to Tie It

The Knicks were down 90-78 with 6:12 left when they began their final run.

  • The game was being played at a frenetic, defensive pace — and Josh Hart was fouled scrambling for a loose ball and made both free throws.

The Knicks’ defense started causing misses. When Schroder wasn’t playing physical D vs Brunson, 6’6 wing Auser Thompson came over to play physical D on him. But Brunson was getting his buckets anyway.

  • Brunson drew a foul on a drive, made both free throws and NY was down 8.
  • NY forced a Jalen Duren turnover, and Brunson hit a floater down the other end and NY was down 6.
  • NY forced a Tobias Harris miss, and OG was fouled down the other end — hit free throws and NY was down 4.
  • Cunningham made free throws off a drive — and Bridges missed a 3.
  • Cunningham missed a 3 — but Bridges missed a 2.
  • Still the Knicks kept coming.
  • More Josh Hart free throws, and a Brunson step-back pulled NY to within 92-90. MSG was rocking.
  • Cunningham hit Jalen Duren for a surprise alley oop slam to put Detroit up 94-90, but Brunson drew a foul taking a 3-pointer, hit 2 of 3 free throws and NY was down 94-92.
  • OG Anunoby stole the ball from Jalen Duren, and Brunson fed Josh Hart for a dunk and it was a tie game at 94-94 with 1:15 left!!!

6. Schroder Hits 3 for Win; Brunson & Bridges 3’s Fall Short

But then Dennis Schroder, again, was a pain in the ass. He hit a 3 with 55 seconds left to give Detroit a 3-pt lead.

  • Brunson came down with a chance to tie — but missed a 3 with 46 seconds left.
  • Malik Beasley missed a 3 with 25 seconds left — giving NY another chance.
  • But Mikal Bridges missed a straight-away 3 with 11 seconds left and NY was forced to foul.

Schroder the Difference

If not for Schroder, the Knicks would have won this game — even with the rebound and free throw discrepancies.

“Dennis Schroder was big for the Pistons whether he was getting his own and hitting big time shots, finding the open man, defending along with making some high bball IQ plays and allowing Cade to play off the ball at times,” noted NBA Analyst Ross Kreines. “Dennis rewarded the Pistons with his minutes and his game.”

7. Defensive Struggle

OG Anunoby also had only 10 pts on 4-10 shooting (0-4 from 3) and Josh Hart had 10 pts on 2-6 shooting with 7 rebound and 5 assists.

Tobias Harris had 15 pts on 6-11 shooting. The Knicks were also bit by 6’9 forward Paul Reed, who was 3-4 from the floor for 6 pts in 11 minutes.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401768041

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