The New York Knicks had a chance to close out their first-round series against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night and failed to take advantage. With Game 5 at Madison Square Garden and a 3-1 series lead, the Knicks lost, 106-103, as the Pistons fought desperately to live another day.
Detroit may have been aided in those efforts by one decision from Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson and utility forward Josh Hart were forced to sub out at the 2:57 mark of the fourth quarter; the Knicks trailed, 97-95, at the time. Soon after the pair were ready to return to the game, but were forced to stand at the scorer's table for a long while waiting for a break in the action. That didn't end up coming until there were 27 seconds left in the game and by that point the Pistons had extended their lead to six.
