Jalen Brunson, Cameron Payne Lead Knicks to Comeback Win

Pain and Payne defined the 2025 postseason opener for the New York Knicks.

A fantastic fourth propelled the Knicks to a comeback victory, as they downed the Detroit Pistons 123-112 on Saturday evening at Madison Square Garden. Jalen Brunson scored 34 points while OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns put in 23 points each while uniting for nine steals.

Apr 19, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) drives past Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) in Game One of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

New York thus takes a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, their fourth playoff meeting against Detroit.

Vocal playoff pleasantries became panic for New York when franchise face Brunson appeared to tweak the ankle that kept him out for a month in the latter stages of the regular season. But an unexpected collaboration with reserve guard Cameron Payne saved the night and, perhaps, the Knicks' postseason journey.

Upon Brunson's re-entry after a brief retreat into the New York locker room, the Knicks staged a 21-0 run that permanently shifted momentum and thrust MSG into hysterics. Brunson and Payne united to put up all but the final four points of that run, which turned an eight-point deficit into a lead that summitted at 13. New York won the fourth by a 40-21 final as Brunson and Payne shot a combined 9-of-12 from the field.

It's the latest offering of playoff mastery for Brunson, who hit 10 of his final 14 from the field after starting 2-of-13. Brunson recorded his 12th New York playoff game with at least 30 points, which ties the late Willis Reed for the second-most in franchise history.

Payne's emergence (which featured a game-best plus/minus of plus-23 and 14 total points in relief) was just one of the surprises that Saturday had to offer.

Towns, often maligned for his efforts without the ball, put up a spirited defensive effort with four takeaways, pairing that with his usual double-double antics (pulling in 11 rebounds). While it has become more commonplace, Anunoby had a sterling two-way game, helping the Knicks keep pace in a tepid first half with 19 points on 6-of-11. Their efforts and more forced 21 Detroit turnovers, including six in the final period alone, which yielded 11 points on the Knicks' scoring end (25 total).

The physicality expected from this series manifested almost immediately from the get-go, as headliners Anunoby, Jalen Duren, Josh Hart, and Ausar Thompson each landed in early foul trouble. Despite Detroit's supposed edge in the category, the Knicks outscored the Pistons in the paint by a plus-16 margin. That included six tallies from Mitchell Robinson off the bench and he also acquired six rebounds in his first seasonal showing against Detroit.

Apr 19, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Cameron Payne (1) drives past Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) in Game One of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Partaking in its first NBA playoff game since 2019, the Pistons paced by 25 points from Tobias Harris, though only three came in the second half. Malik Beasley scored all but two of his 20 points on six three-pointers while franchise face Cade Cunningham had a 21-point, 12-assist double-double that required 21 attempts from the field.

Game 2 of the series is set to be staged on Monday night at MSG (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/TNT).

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