Karl-Anthony Towns scored 31 points, Jalen Brunson had 30 and the New York Knicks held on for a 118-116 win over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.
OG Anunoby added 22 points for New York. Game 4 is on Sunday in Detroit.
The Pistons have lost eight straight home playoff games since 2008, pulling within one of an NBA record set by Philadelphia from 1968 to 1971.
When Detroit won at New York in Game 2, the franchise ended a league-record, 15-playoff game losing streak to take home-court advantage, but the Knicks snatched it back.
Brunson, who won the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year award on Wednesday, made consecutive layups late in the game to give the Knicks a seven-point lead.
Tim Hardaway Jr. connected on a 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds left to pull the Pistons within three.
Brunson made one of two free throws with 3.5 seconds left for a four-point lead after Detroit’s coaches, players and fans were screaming for an over-and-back violation to be called. The All-Star guard made another free throw with 0.5 seconds left and missed the second intentionally.
Detroit didn’t get a final shot off because Jalen Duren’s pass from in front of his team’s bench went out of bounds on the other side of the court.
Towns was aggressive offensively from the start, scoring 11 points in the first quarter. The 7-foot center made 4-of-8 3-pointers after combining to shoot 1 of 5 beyond the arc over the first two games.
Detroit’s Cade Cunningham scored 24 points and had 11 assists, but missed 15 of 25 shots and had six turnovers.
Hardaway had 24 points, making a career playoff-high seven 3-pointers. Dennis Schroder scored 18 points and Duren had 16 for the Pistons.
New York led 33-27 after an emotionally charged opening quarter.
Brunson was called for a flagrant foul on Hardaway midway through the first and in the final minute of the quarter, New York’s Mitchell Robinson and Detroit’s Paul Reed were engaged with each other and Towns intervened and pushed Reed, who had to be held back from retaliating.
The Knicks pulled away with 21-3 run to take a 14-point lead late in the first half and were ahead 66-53 at halftime.
Detroit pulled within one point twice in the third, but the Knicks went on another surge to take a 10-point lead into the final quarter and the cushion was comfortable enough to hold off Detroit’s attempts to rally.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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