Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) and forward Tobias Harris (12) high-five at the end of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, Monday, April 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)s
Cade Cunningham scored 33 points and Dennis Schroder hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 55.7 seconds left as the visiting Detroit Pistons evened their NBA Eastern Conference first-round series, escaping with a physical 100-94 Game 2 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night.
READ: NBA: Pistons pull off unprecedented turnaround this season
Game 3 is Thursday in Detroit.
After struggling through a rough playoff debut on Saturday when the Pistons blew an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter and were outscored 40-21, Cunningham delivered a masterful performance with 11-of-21 shooting from the field and helped Detroit overcome 37 points by New York star Jalen Brunson.
Even with Cunningham’s big showing, the Pistons nearly did not do enough to avoid folding down the stretch as they blew a 13-point lead, getting outscored 19-6 in a span of 5:55.
The Knicks roared back from an 88-75 deficit and forged a 94-94 deadlock with 1:15 remaining when Brunson passed out of a double team to a cutting Josh Hart, who converted a dunk.
READ; NBA playoffs: Knicks go on 21-0 burst, beat Pistons in opener
On the next possession, the Pistons regained the lead when Schroder hit a 3 from the left side over Brunson late in the shot clock.
Brunson missed a potential tying 3 with 46.5 seconds left and Mikal Bridges was off on another 3-pointer with 11 seconds left. Detroit finished it off by sinking three free throws in the final 8.1 seconds.
Detroit Pistons guard Dennis Schroder, center, leaps to pass the ball during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, Monday, April 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
Schroder added 20 for the Pistons, who stopped an NBA-record 15-game postseason losing streak that dated to Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. Tobias Harris added 15 points and 13 rebounds while Jalen Duren collected 12 points, 13 boards and three blocks as the Pistons outrebounded New York 48-34.
Brunson scored 14 of his points in the fourth and Bridges added 19 in the game, but the Knicks shot 42 percent and got little from Karl Anthony-Towns and OG Anunoby, who were held to 10 apiece. Hart also scored 10.
Cunningham scored eight points as the Pistons shot 50 percent and did most of their scoring in the paint to build a 25-18 lead through the opening quarter. Detroit took a 42-30 lead on Cunningham’s 3-pointer with 7:01 left, and he capped his strong half with a difficult off-balance six-footer in the lane over Mitchell Robinson. The Pistons led 55-49 at the break.
After the Knicks cut the deficit to four, the Pistons scored 11 straight and opened a 68-53 lead on a layup by Paul Reed with 5:02 left that followed a dunk by Cunningham.
The Pistons took a 75-67 lead into the fourth after Cunningham split two free throws with 2.6 seconds left, then opened an 88-75 edge on Reed’s putback with 7:10 left before surviving the final minutes. –Field Level Media
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