Cade Cunningham leads Pistons past Knicks in Game 2 to even series, end losing skid

The Detroit Pistons kept it together down the stretch at Madison Square Garden this time.

And, finally, the franchise’s brutal postseason losing streak is over.

The Pistons, after fumbling late in Game 1 of the opening-round playoff series Saturday, held on to grab a tight 100-94 win over the New York Knicks on Monday night. That evened the series at 1-1 before it heads back to Detroit on Thursday.

While it wasn’t a great shooting night for the Pistons — they shot 6-of-27 from the 3-point line — it was Cade Cunningham who made the difference. Cunningham dropped 20 points in the first half and finished with 33.

Remarkably, it was the Pistons’ first playoff win since 2008. Their 15 straight losses were the longest active losing streak in the league.

No Isaiah Stewart for Detroit

The Pistons were without big man Isaiah Stewart on Monday night due to right knee inflammation.

The team ruled him out with the injury, which also kept him out of their final two regular-season games, just a few hours before tip. Stewart played through his injury in their Game 1 loss on Saturday, though he appeared to be struggling. He had two points and five rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. He asked to be pulled from the game in the fourth quarter, when the Pistons still held the lead, but then they gave up a 21-0 run and ended up losing.

“I think we all felt it,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Stewart on Sunday, via the Detroit Free Press. “He was phenomenal last night. His effort, how he protected the rim, the energy that he brought, how his teammates fed off of his injury was huge.

“When he’s not on the floor for us, we all have to bring that. We have to find a way because we can’t just lean on him all the time or expect it to just be him. We have to play with that same ferociousness and that effort that he does.”

It’s unclear how long Stewart will be sidelined, or if he’ll be available for Game 3.
Apr 21, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) celebrates his three point shot against New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) during the second quarter of game two of the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Detroit appeared to put its fourth-quarter stumble behind it in the first half.

The Pistons took a six-point lead into the locker room behind a huge first half from Cunningham. He hit a short jumper in the final seconds before halftime to keep the Pistons in control. They broke open a double-digit lead early in the second period, but the Knicks fought back slightly.

The Pistons immediately pushed their lead in the third quarter, opening the period on a 13-4 run. Half of that came from Cunningham, and they shut the Knicks down almost completely offensively. New York missed 10 of its first 11 field-goal attempts in the quarter, and the Knicks were suddenly down by 15 points.

That, though, didn’t last long. The Knicks finally started making their shots and cut the deficit to just eight points by the end of the quarter despite managing just 18 points in the period.

The Knicks then went on a 16-4 tear in what was a close and contentious finish. Jalen Brunson left the game briefly and went to the locker room with an apparent injury after powering that run, but he came back less than a minute later seemingly fine. The two teams got into a brief altercation after he left, too, though nothing came of it.

But, as quick as the comeback was mounted, the Pistons finished the job. They hit a rare 3-pointer when Dennis Schröder connected from 25 feet, and then both Brunson and Mikal Bridges missed multiple attempts from behind the arc in the final minute that could’ve tied the game again. Detroit hit three free throws in the final 10 seconds to push it to the margin of victory and give the Pistons their first postseason win in more than 15 years.

Cunningham also had 12 rebounds and three assists in the win. Schröder added 20 points off the bench and accounted for half the team’s made 3-pointers. Tobias Harris finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds, too. The Pistons, despite not having Stewart available, still out-rebounded the Knicks 48-34.

Brunson led the Knicks with 37 points and seven assists. He went 4-of-12 from deep. Bridges added 19 points and five rebounds, and Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 10 points and six rebounds. He didn’t score at all in the second half and shot 5-of-11 from the field.

The two teams will run it back Thursday in Detroit, which hasn’t hosted a playoff game since 2019, when the team was swept in the opening round. This is just Detroit’s fourth playoff appearance since it made the Eastern Conference finals three straight times from 2006-08.

While a home win over the next two games would be historic for the franchise — the last one came on May 26, 2008 — it would go a long way in keeping Brunson and the Knicks from running away with the series. Returning to Manhattan in a 3-1 hole isn’t a battle the Pistons want to face.