Latest York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) celebrates with teammates in the course of the first half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Detroit Pistons, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 31 points and Jalen Brunson added 30, including 12 within the fourth quarter, to present the visiting Latest York Knicks a 118-116 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday in Game 3 of their NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
OG Anunoby put up 22 points for the Knicks, who hold a 2-1 lead heading into Game 4 of the best-of-seven series on Sunday in Detroit.
READ: NBA: Knicks’ Jalen Brunson wins clutch player of the 12 months award
KNICKS STAR DUO TAKE OVER 💯👏
KAT: 31 PTS, 8 REB, 2 BLK
Brunson: 30 PTS (12 in 4Q), 7 REB, 9 ASTNYK leads 2-1 | Game 4: Sun. 1pm/et, ABC pic.twitter.com/axoFNK44CG
— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2025
“It’s playoff basketball,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We’ve got guys who’ve been in plenty of big games. We’ve been a superb road team all 12 months, so I feel we understand what goes into winning. After which, you understand, we had disappointment from the loss in Game 2. So, I assumed the readiness to play was excellent.”
Brunson, who averaged 35.5 points in the primary two games, also had nine assists and 7 rebounds in Game 3.
Detroit Pistons guard Dennis Schroder (17) tried to steal the ball from Latest York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) in the course of the second half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Cade Cunningham and Tim Hardaway Jr. led Detroit with 24 points apiece, and Cunningham dished out a game-high 11 assists. Dennis Schroder scored 18 points for the Pistons, who haven’t won a house playoff game since May 2008.
“It’s frustrating for a bunch of various reasons,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “I assumed within the second half we played well enough to win the sport.”
READ: NBA: Pistons halt playoff skid in Game 2, knot series vs Knicks
Detroit started off the second half with aggressive play to erase a 13-point halftime deficit and climb inside 72-71 with 6:43 left within the third quarter. Latest York then clamped down on defense and held the Pistons with out a basket during the last 4:23 of the quarter, producing a 93-83 edge on the period’s end.
The Pistons made a late run within the fourth quarter to chop it to 116-113 on Hardaway’s 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds left. Brunson then split a pair of free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining to place Latest York up 117-113.
Following a fast 3-pointer by Tobias Harris and a foul on an inbounds play, Brunson then split one other pair of free throws with just below a second left to seal the win.
Knicks guard Josh Hart said of his team’s response to a Game 2 defeat, “We’re not surprised. I feel like we’ve been that team all 12 months when it comes to responding and bouncing back after losses.”
The primary quarter was chippy and included multiple technical fouls and a flagrant foul. Brunson picked up the flagrant foul when his handcrafted contact with Hardaway’s face on a 3-point attempt and knocked him to the bottom.
Nearly five minutes later, Pistons center Paul Reed and Knicks forward Mitchell Robinson were assessed double technical fouls and Towns received a technical foul for a shoving incident.
Latest York led by six after one quarter, then closed with a 23-6 spurt to construct a 66-53 halftime lead. Anunoby had 18 points and Towns logged 17 before the break, while Hardaway paced Detroit with 18 points.
Addressing the mood within the Detroit locker room postgame, Bickerstaff said, “Our guys are too committed to at least one one other. We’re not results driven. We’ll show up Sunday. We’re gonna lay it on the road. We’re gonna fight like hell and see what happens.” –Field Level Media
