Knicks Miss Chance to Advance, Fall to Pistons in Game 5

New York Knicks fans entered Madison Square Garden on Tuesday hoping to clinch their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Detroit Pistons at home. By the end of the night, they'll likely settle for mere Motor City mayhem.

Bruising physicality and sheer bad luck defined the Knicks experience in the fifth game of the best-of-seven set, which landed in Detroit's favor by a 106-103 final. New York was thus denied a chance to secure its spot in the Eastern semifinal round as well as its first series-clinching win at MSG since the 1999 conference finals.

Cade Cunningham had 24 points while Ausar Thompson put in 22 for his best scoring output of the series to date. Detroit has two of the three games held at MSG in this series and four in five meetings this year overall.

OG Anunoby led the Knicks with 19 points in defeat as some of their headliners struggled in the clinching chance: Jalen Brunson's streak of 30-point games ended at four as he had only 16 on 4-of-16 from the field (as well as 7-of-10 from the foul line) while Karl-Anthony Towns had a double-double with 11 rebounds and 17 tallies, albeit on 5-of-14 shooting.

By far the most pleasant metropolitan development was the breakout of backup center Mitchell Robinson: the longest-tenured Knick help New York stand out amidst the game's early physicality, amassing seven offensive rebounds in the first half alone. That helped the Knicks score 12 second half points and eek out a slim halftime lead after they endured a first quarter swoon that saw them loose seven turnovers.

Detroit finally earned a double-figure lead with another strong third quarter, but Brunson's three-pointer just before the four-minute mark kickstarted a 9-0 run that got the Knicks back into the game. From there, neither team led by more than four until the final two minutes.

Knicks Pistons — Apr 29, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) drives against New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) in the fourth quarter during game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

But the Knicks' fate was perhaps sealed in a puzzling sequence at the end of the game: with 2:57 remaining Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart were forced to leave the game due to nagging injuries: Hart took on the full brunt of a Cunningham drive while Brunson appeared to tweak his right ankle, the same one that gave him issues in March and in the prior game, on the floor. At the time of the incidents, Detroit led 97-95.

While Brunson and Hart were forced to temporarily leave the game, they reported to the scorer's table shortly after their respective incidents. But the Knicks were unable to get them back in until there were but 27 seconds left, as they were equipped with no stoppages and one timeout. In that period, which saw the Knicks further burdened by the fact they were in the penalty, the Pistons were able to build a lasting six-point lead that proved to be enough to hold off the Knicks' final fury.

Wasted in the final stanza was a solid outing from Bridges, who kept the Knicks in the game with 13 period points. Bridges and Anunoby each hit late three-pointers that temporarily kept the Knicks' hopes alive before their luck officially ran out. The ailing Brunson was 1-of-4 hampered by shutdown defense from Thompson and Schroder.

Game 6 will be staged on Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).

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