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.
The Knicks led by as many as 21 in the first half with Immanuel Quickley (18 points) coming off the bench to provide a quick start. Up 18-14 when he entered, he buried a three-pointer and after Burks (18 points) drained a three, he hit another from beyond the arc to push the lead to 27-14. Quickley added another three before the end of the quarter and the Knicks were up, 34-22, at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter with Quickley and Obi Toppin starting it and then Randle and Barrett picking up from there, the lead kept growing.
But Detroit managed to close the gap to 59-46 at the half. Bagley III hit his first seven shots for the Pistons and had 17 points at the half. Saddiq Bey hit a three and then followed up with a floater in the lane, drawing a foul and hitting the free throw to close the gap to 60-55 early in the third quarter.
After a missed three by Evan Fournier, Bey fed Isaiah Stewart for a fast break layup, pulling the Pistons within 61-59, prompting a timeout by Thibodeau just 3:17 into the second half. Fournier (stopped the bleeding momentarily with two straight three-pointers. Kelly Olynyk misfired on a three that could have given Detroit its first lead since the opening minutes, but the Knicks still could not shake them. Killian Hayes closed the gap to 80-79 with a jumper with 19 seconds left in the quarter and the teams went into the fourth quarter separated by just one point.
Hayes had a chance to put Detroit ahead on its first possession of the fourth, but missed on a three, and Barrett hit one of two free throws at the other end. Frank Jackson missed on a three and then after an offensive rebound, Jackson was called for a charge, turning the ball over.
Hayes finally pulled the Pistons even with a jumper, but Quickley responded with a three and the Knicks led 86-83. Up 88-86, the Knicks put a pretty good representation of the game together on successive possessions. Trying to find Toppin ahead of the pack Barrett threw a pass from behind half court that soared over Toppin and off the backboard. Then on the next trip Quickley found Toppin, this time for a lob behind the defense that he was able to slam in for a four-point lead with 7:05 left.
With the score tied at 90, Thibodeau went back to Randle and he scored inside for the lead again. After an exchange of mistakes, Randle drained a three with 4:21 left and the Knicks were up 95-90. Barrett then stole the ball from Cunningham and a layup pushed the lead to seven.
Bagley hit a corner three and then after a pair of Mitchell Robinson free throws, Bagley cut along the baseline, scoring on a reverse jam with a foul on Randle. He converted the three-point play and it was A 99-96 Knicks' lead with 2:08 to play. Barrett and Cunningham traded baskets and then a pair of Bey free throws cut the lead to one with one minute left.
Randle drove and found Alec Burks in the corner for a three and Robinson swatted a Cunningham layup out of bounds. But Hayes scored on a driving layup and after ra Barrett miss in the lane the Pistons called time with 6.6 seconds left.
