DETROIT — The Knicks were working their way through the final seconds of the game, desperately clinging to a two-point lead that had been 21 at one point and with Little Caesars Arena maybe louder than you’d expect for meeting of these lottery-bound teams, rookie Cade Cunningham took the ball with six seconds left and went to work.
But as the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft set up to rise for a jumper to try to tie the score and send the game into overtime, Alec Burks reached in and stripped the ball from him as time expired. The Knicks escaped with a 104-102 win.
What seemed like a laugher early turned into anything but. Julius Randle returned to the lineup Sunday afternoon after sitting out the last three games and the time away seemed to show for much of the game as he looked a step slow and gassed. But he managed to deliver a pair of big buckets down the stretch, finishing with 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists. RJ Barrett led the Knicks with 21 points. Detroit’s Marvin Bagley III led all scorers with 27 points.
