NEW YORK – A 33-14 run in the fourth quarter sealed the Detroit Pistons’ fate as they fell 123-112 in Game 1 against the New York Knicks inside Madison Square Garden.
Saturday’s (April 19) afternoon matchup was full of ebbs and flows. The Pistons led 98-90 with the ball to start the fourth quarter, but they were called for a five-second violation.
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Then, they turned the ball over on a 24-second shot clock violation, leading to Karl Anthony Towns’s personal 5-0 run, and the rest was history.
To summarize Game 1, the Pistons were the better team through three quarters, but the scoring drought, plus 21 turnovers (eight in the fourth), cost them to fall 1-0 in this best-of-seven series.
“We were the better team for three quarters, I thought,” said Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “These are learning lessons for us, and we have to be honest with ourselves when it comes to that. We talked pregame about what experience is, and this is experience. Now, you come back the next game, and how quickly do you learn from it? You got guys in their first playoff game and understanding what playoff basketball is and what closing a playoff basketball is. It’s hard to win in the playoffs because people are laying it all out there.”
Game 2 adjustments
The Pistons were the better team on Saturday, but to win on Monday, April 21, 2025, they’ll need to reduce their turnovers, especially on the road inside MSG.
For the Pistons, veterans Tobias Harris led the team in scoring with 25 points, followed by Malik Beasley’s 20 and Tim Hardaway Jr.’s 19, which helped catapult them to that eight-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter.
You can’t lose a game after performances like that from your veteran role players.
How about staying out of foul trouble by not collecting early fouls to key players like Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren, whose presence was dearly missed in Game 1, which led to 40 40-point quarter for the Knicks.
Although it was his first playoff game, the Pistons will need a better performance from All-Star guard Cade Cunningham.
He was getting double-teamed early and often, so how about maybe having him play off-ball?
Maybe get out and running the floor more to beat the trap.
Have Cunningham running down the middle of the floor with Malik Beasley running the wings, making the Knicks choose to stop the penetration or run to the three-point line for an easy bucket at the rim.
Look for the Pistons to watch the film and get back on track for Game 2 in this best-of-seven series when they take on the New York Knicks inside Madison Square Garden at 7:30 p.m.
