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There won't be a Game 7 for the Detroit Pistons.
With the game, series — and season — on the line, the Pistons came up just short.
Jalen Brunson squashed dreams of a decisive final game with the series-winning 3-pointer Thursday night for the New York Knicks with 4.3 seconds left, sending the Pistons home at Little Caesars Arena, 116-113. Brunson led all scorers with 40 points.
Brunson shed Ausar Thompson on the play on the left wing and daggered the Pistons, who called timeout, only to see Malik Beasley drop an open pass to seal the loss.
Prior to Brunson’s game-winner, Cade Cunningham had a chance to give the Pistons the lead late, but missed a contested layup with 20.6 seconds to play. Cunningham finished with 23 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
On the final possession, Cunningham found Beasley open on the right wing for a potential tying 3, but the veteran shooter couldn’t handle the on target pass, which tumbled out of bounds.
A win would have snapped a nine-game playoff home losing streak for the Pistons, dating back to May 26, 2008 against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals. They now own the NBA record.
Instead, the Pistons will end their most successful season in 17 years with two playoff wins — two more than they’ve won in that entire stretch — but also the pain of not being able to finish a game they nearly had won. They led 112-105 with 2:38 to play before the Knicks closed with an 11-1 run.
After closing the first half on a strong note to take a two-point lead, the Pistons fell behind in the third. A transition poster dunk on Cunningham by Bridges extended the Knicks’ run to open the period to 27-12, and the Pistons trailed by 11 at the end of it. They were held to 6-for-18 shooting in the quarter, missed all seven of their 3-point attempts and were outscored 37-24.
They rallied in the fourth, though, tying the game at 103 after outscoring the Knicks 18-7 to open the period. Through that point with 6:06 remaining in the game, they’d held New York to 3-for-11 shooting in the quarter and forced three turnovers while shooting 6-for-11 themselves, setting up another thrilling finish.
The Knicks advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals against the 2-seed Celtics, with Game 1 on Monday in Boston.
Tim Hardaway Jr. missed eight of his first nine shots, but knocked down a 3-pointer to bring the Pistons within two before Thompson tied the game with a spinning layup past Brunson midway through the fourth quarter. After a timeout, they forced an errant pass by Karl-Anthony Towns that flew out of bounds. On the other end, Cunningham extended the Pistons’ run to 16-2 and gave them the lead again, 105-103, with a turnaround jumper from midrange.
Thompson, arguably the Pistons’ best two-way player in Game 5, made big plays down the stretch. He continued to show chemistry with Duren, who found him cutting into the dunker spot for an easy bucket during the Pistons’ dominant 20-2 that allowed them to take a 112-105 lead.
After Cunningham found Duren inside to give them the edge, 107-105, Thompson came up with a steal and lefty layup to draw a triumphant roar from the crowd. With 57.9 seconds to play and the Pistons nursing a 112-111 lead, he blocked a midrange jumper from Brunson, and the ball went out of bounds on the Knicks guard.
On the other end, Duren drew Towns’ sixth foul with 49.8 seconds left, and split two free throws to extend their lead to 113-111. They held the Knicks to 8-for-24 shooting (33.3%) in the fourth.
Entering the game, Beasley had only knocked down 30.4% of his 3-pointers in the postseason. He was due for a breakout game, and he finally got one. At halftime, he had 18 points and had knocked down six of his 11 attempts from 3 — including a deep one at the conclusion of the second half to give the Pistons the lead, 61-59.
The Pistons initially got off to a cold start, trailing 37-23 after the first quarter while shooting 38.1% overall. Beasley powered them to a dominant second quarter, which they closed by outsourcing the Knicks 34-17 after initially falling behind by 15 points. He sparked the run with back-to-back 3-pointers, and his fifth triple at the 4:13 mark tied the game at 49 — drawing one of the loudest cheers of the night.
The veteran carried the Pistons’ shooting and was responsible for six of their eight made 3-pointers at halftime. The rest of the team was 2-for-11 combined.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pistons Knicks Game 6 score: Jalen Brunson stuns Detroit in Game 6
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With the game, series — and season — on the line, the Pistons came up just short.
Jalen Brunson squashed dreams of a decisive final game with the series-winning 3-pointer Thursday night for the New York Knicks with 4.3 seconds left, sending the Pistons home at Little Caesars Arena, 116-113. Brunson led all scorers with 40 points.
Brunson shed Ausar Thompson on the play on the left wing and daggered the Pistons, who called timeout, only to see Malik Beasley drop an open pass to seal the loss.
Prior to Brunson’s game-winner, Cade Cunningham had a chance to give the Pistons the lead late, but missed a contested layup with 20.6 seconds to play. Cunningham finished with 23 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
On the final possession, Cunningham found Beasley open on the right wing for a potential tying 3, but the veteran shooter couldn’t handle the on target pass, which tumbled out of bounds.
A win would have snapped a nine-game playoff home losing streak for the Pistons, dating back to May 26, 2008 against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals. They now own the NBA record.
Instead, the Pistons will end their most successful season in 17 years with two playoff wins — two more than they’ve won in that entire stretch — but also the pain of not being able to finish a game they nearly had won. They led 112-105 with 2:38 to play before the Knicks closed with an 11-1 run.
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After closing the first half on a strong note to take a two-point lead, the Pistons fell behind in the third. A transition poster dunk on Cunningham by Bridges extended the Knicks’ run to open the period to 27-12, and the Pistons trailed by 11 at the end of it. They were held to 6-for-18 shooting in the quarter, missed all seven of their 3-point attempts and were outscored 37-24.
They rallied in the fourth, though, tying the game at 103 after outscoring the Knicks 18-7 to open the period. Through that point with 6:06 remaining in the game, they’d held New York to 3-for-11 shooting in the quarter and forced three turnovers while shooting 6-for-11 themselves, setting up another thrilling finish.
The Knicks advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals against the 2-seed Celtics, with Game 1 on Monday in Boston.
Pistons surge in 4th quarter, then collapse
Tim Hardaway Jr. missed eight of his first nine shots, but knocked down a 3-pointer to bring the Pistons within two before Thompson tied the game with a spinning layup past Brunson midway through the fourth quarter. After a timeout, they forced an errant pass by Karl-Anthony Towns that flew out of bounds. On the other end, Cunningham extended the Pistons’ run to 16-2 and gave them the lead again, 105-103, with a turnaround jumper from midrange.
Thompson, arguably the Pistons’ best two-way player in Game 5, made big plays down the stretch. He continued to show chemistry with Duren, who found him cutting into the dunker spot for an easy bucket during the Pistons’ dominant 20-2 that allowed them to take a 112-105 lead.
After Cunningham found Duren inside to give them the edge, 107-105, Thompson came up with a steal and lefty layup to draw a triumphant roar from the crowd. With 57.9 seconds to play and the Pistons nursing a 112-111 lead, he blocked a midrange jumper from Brunson, and the ball went out of bounds on the Knicks guard.
On the other end, Duren drew Towns’ sixth foul with 49.8 seconds left, and split two free throws to extend their lead to 113-111. They held the Knicks to 8-for-24 shooting (33.3%) in the fourth.
Malik Beasley leads wild first-half comeback
Entering the game, Beasley had only knocked down 30.4% of his 3-pointers in the postseason. He was due for a breakout game, and he finally got one. At halftime, he had 18 points and had knocked down six of his 11 attempts from 3 — including a deep one at the conclusion of the second half to give the Pistons the lead, 61-59.
The Pistons initially got off to a cold start, trailing 37-23 after the first quarter while shooting 38.1% overall. Beasley powered them to a dominant second quarter, which they closed by outsourcing the Knicks 34-17 after initially falling behind by 15 points. He sparked the run with back-to-back 3-pointers, and his fifth triple at the 4:13 mark tied the game at 49 — drawing one of the loudest cheers of the night.
The veteran carried the Pistons’ shooting and was responsible for six of their eight made 3-pointers at halftime. The rest of the team was 2-for-11 combined.
Follow the Pistons all year long with the best coverage at freep.com/sports/pistons.
Follow the Detroit Free Press on Instagram (@detroitfreepress), TikTok (@detroitfreepress), YouTube (@DetroitFreePress), X (@freep), and LinkedIn, and like us on Facebook (@detroitfreepress).
Stay connected and stay informed. Become a Detroit Free Press subscriber.
Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it online or in print.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pistons Knicks Game 6 score: Jalen Brunson stuns Detroit in Game 6
Continue reading...
