Knicks Warned to Fear One Team in Eastern Conference

The New York Knicks snapped the San Antonio Spurs' 11-game winning streak with a dominant 114-89 win at Madison Square Garden, with Mikal Bridges dropping 25 points and Jalen Brunson adding 24.

The Knicks trailed 19-7 early before Brunson took over, scoring 11 straight to end the first quarter. New York then went on a 26-2 run into the second quarter and never looked back. Karl-Anthony Towns grabbed 14 rebounds, Mohamed Diawara came off the bench for 14 points, and Bridges was locked in on both ends with 5 steals.

The Garden was loud. But one voice wasn't buying it.

Via a post on ESPN's First Take X account, Stephen A. Smith made it clear that one big win does not make him forget the Knicks' recent struggles against the Detroit Pistons. For him, the Pistons are the team New York still has not figured out.

"The Detroit Pistons scared me and I think that if you're a New York Knicks fan, you should be looking at the Eastern Conference. Yeah, it's tough. And yeah, you're going to be in a fight. But there's one team that stands above the Knicks with their foot on their necks, telling them, we're going to bust your ass again. And they keep doing it. You got to answer that," Smith said.

"The Detroit Pistons scare me. ... Punching them in the face and then saying, 'what are you going to do about it?' And the New York Knicks have said, 'nothing.'"

—@stephenasmith on how the Knicks play against the Pistons 👀 pic.twitter.com/QNwIivqRaT
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 2, 2026

He added, "At some point in time, you got to answer that call. My issue with the Knicks is not about any other team. My issue with the Knicks is about the Detroit Pistons."

The Spurs win did nothing to ease Smith's worry about Detroit and honestly, his reasoning is hard to ignore. The Pistons have beaten the Knicks three times already this season, 121-90, 118-80, and 126-111. Three games, three Detroit wins, none of them close. The Knicks have not found an answer all year.

Smith went further, explaining exactly why the Pistons bother him so much in the context of the East:

"To me, they [Pistons] are the best team in the Eastern Conference who have a personal axe to grind against the New York Knicks and they treat their competition against the New York Knicks like that. Punching them in the face and then saying what you're going to do about it and the New York Knicks said, nothing. Nah, you got to answer. You got to answer."

Can New York Finally Answer?

Detroit also won the regular season series 3-1 against New York in 2024-25, before the Knicks edged them out in six playoff games. The Knicks got through, but Detroit remembers, and this season's results show they have not forgotten.

The Knicks are 39-22 and very much in the mix for the East's second seed. Beating a hot Spurs team is a real win. Detroit is still lurking, and a playoff collision between these two isn't out of the question. If that moment arrives, New York will need to prove they're still the beast of the East.

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