Knicks put on an offensive clinic in brutal destruction of Pistons

DETROIT – The story of a suddenly cohesive unit taking on an outmatched opponent was told in the first six minutes.

• A backdoor cut on a Karl-Anthony Towns layup.
• An over-the-shoulder, no-look pass from Towns to a cutting Jalen Brunson for a reverse layup.
• An alley from Brunson to OG Anunoby.
• A Josh Hart jam after a steal by Mikal Bridges.
• A backdoor shot from Brunson cut into a layup off Bridges’ assist.

By the end of this offensive clinic, the Knicks were already up by ten points and took the fight from the woeful Pistons, who folded like a deuce-seven offsuit poker hand and lost to New York for the sixteenth straight time in Friday night’s 128- . 98 thread-to-thread destruction.

The Knicks (3-2) led by 26 points after the first quarter, tying the franchise’s second-largest lead ever through the first 12 minutes.

They led by as many as 33 in the first half.

After that, the Pistons never got closer than 22.

When Leon Rose created this Knicks offseason, Friday night — just the fifth game of the season — was what he hoped would come out of the starting lineup.

Jalen Brunson, the captain, dissected Detroit’s defense as he scored 26 of his season-high 36 points in the first half.

Karl-Anthony Towns, who was listed as questionable before tipoff with a sprained wrist, added 11 rebounds and seven assists with 21 points two nights after dropping 44 on the Heat.

He continued to combat the “soft” label, backing up Pistons enforcer Isaiah Stewart for a layup attempt, an offensive rebound and a putback through contact in the second quarter.

Towns is shooting a ridiculous 65 percent on his three-pointers to start the season, hitting 3 of 6 on Friday.

OG Anunoby, the $212 million man, recorded 21 points with six assists.

Mikal Bridges contributed 15 points with seven boards. Josh Hart scored thirteen points with nine rebounds.

The Knicks finished with 16 steals, including four from Miles McBride.

There was ball movement, unselfishness, cutting, deadeye shooting.

It was the Knicks’ early Thanksgiving.

They were visitors at Little Caesars Arena and they were all partying.

The Pistons (1-5), the shining example of ineptitude in the East this decade, haven’t beaten the Knicks since 2019.

Tom Thibodeau has never lost to them with New York, and he also owns new Detroit coach JB Bickerstaff, who was hired in the summer after a four-year stint with the Cavs.

Bickerstaff’s low point in Cleveland was probably seeing his team get punked by the Knicks in the 2023 playoffs, and he knew the Knicks were different, but the same.

‘They are different. By adding guys like Towns, Bridges gives them a different dynamic of guys who can individually impact a game at a high level. Both guys are capable of having big nights, but I think they’ve kept the heart and soul of the team, and their spirit is the same,” Bickerstaff said. “I think losing Donte (DiVincenzo) was a little bit of a change. I thought he did a great job for them too, but with the Josh Harts of the world, the Jalen Brunsons of the world, they keep that fight and spirit that gives them a chance and that they’re known for. .

“They have been able to maintain the defensive identity with Anunoby and Bridges as two-way players. They are always well supervised. Thibs does a great job with his teams, but that mentality of who they are, I don’t think that has changed with the personnel changes.”