Knicks' Game 3 Box Score Historic in More Ways Than One

The New York Knicks' starting five rose to the occasion with its season potentially lingering on the line.

Apr 24, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) and forward OG Anunoby (8) celebrates in the second half against the Detroit Pistons during game three of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

In a display that would've made Walt "Clyde" Frazier proud, the New York Knicks were scoring and roaring on Thursday night against the Detroit Pistons.

Amidst a 118-116 win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, the modern Knicks made postseason scoring history in more ways than one: for the first time since April 1972, four different New Yorkers scored at least 20 points in a playoff game.

With Karl-Anthony Towns (31 points) and Jalen Brunson (30) leading the way, it was also the first time that the Knicks had double triple-decade scorers in the same postseason game since June 1999, when Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell pulled off the feat in the opening stanza of the conference semifinal against Atlanta. The phenomenon also occurred in 1968 (Dick Barnett, Cazzie Russell) and 1988 (Patrick Ewing, Johnny Newman).

In the former instance, the headlining duo made history with OG Anunoby (22) and Mikal Bridges (20), who completed the quartet in style. Back in '72, Frazier, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, and Jerry Lucas all scored either 22 or 20 points on the Baltimore Bullets in the clinching game of the Eastern Conference semifinal.

Thursday's output was part of a team-wide recovery effort for the Knicks, who regain the series lead after a tepid offensive showing in Game 2 knotted the matchup at one apiece. Towns and Anunoby got the ball rolling by uniting for 35 of the 66 first half points, which included a trio of triples for each of them. Though the Pistons ate away at a metropolitan lead that submitted at 14, a sterling closeout effort from Brunson sealed the deal: the Knicks captain scored a dozen points in the final period, all within the last eight minutes of play.

With these milestones in tow, Knicks fans certainly won't mind if history partly repeats itself: both the 1972 and 1999 teams reached their respective edition of the NBA Finals, though a championship was denied in each instance.

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