The Knicks out-hustled and out-executed the Pistons en route to a comfortable win in a game that they simply appeared to want more.
Detroit Pistons96
Final
New York Knicks108
The Pistons started well, not exactly a common trend lately. In spite of solid play from New York, they were able to get out to a 20-13 lead midway through the first quarter. But the Knicks would take it back early in the second and never gave up the advantage for the rest of the game.
REGGIE JACKSON
PG | Pistons
C
Jackson didn’t shoot very well, but he aggressively created opportunities for himself and his teammates. And he bailed out a couple Pistons possessions by hitting tough shots as the shot clock expired. Unfortunately, his defense was unintelligent. He wasn’t lazy out there, but he kept going under screens. Calderon is a very good shooter. You can’t duck under screens against him.
KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE
SG | Pistons
F
The Knicks showed a very unusual look by today’s NBA standards for much of the fourth quarter, playing big by slotting in three forwards with a point guard and a center. That left KCP guarding Derrick Williams, who absolutely torched him to pull the Knicks away and put the game out of reach.
MARCUS MORRIS
SF | Pistons
B
Morris faltered in the final period, but he played Carmelo Anthony to a draw for the first three. That’s very impressive. He was sticking tough shots all game, but missed a couple wide open looks.
ERSAN ILYASOVA
PF | Pistons
A
Ilyasova played his matchup perfectly. He lacked the size to really contest Porzingis’ shots, so he denied him the ball–poking it away often enough when the Knicks went to him that they just stopped doing so. And he showed some skills putting the ball on the floor and blowing by Kristaps on the other end. He continues to play the offensive glass well and had a big scoring night in this one as well.
ANDRE DRUMMOND
C | Pistons
D-
Drummond got outplayed by Robin Lopez. To be fair, Lopez was playing really well, but it didn’t help that Drummond looked lethargic out there for several possessions at a time. And he didn’t do any better against Kyle O’Quinn.
STANLEY JOHNSON
SF | Pistons
C-
Stanley Johnson was very aggressive again, but, as is problematically often the case, not very effective. Every time he touches the ball, I expect either an incredible power move or an ugly, broken possession.
ARON BAYNES
C | Pistons
C-
Baynes didn’t get credited with a turnover, but his granite hands were most assuredly the cause of one. He rebounded well, as he has all year, but brought little else to the table.
DARRUN HILLIARD II
SG | Pistons
Inc
Hilliard hit his one shot in garbage time.
ANTHONY TOLLIVER
PF | Pistons
B
Tolliver’s shot well. It probably would have been worth giving him more minutes, even alongside Ilyasova, when the Knicks went with a big lineup.
BRANDON JENNINGS
PG | Pistons
C+
I don’t really have a bar to gauge Jennings relative to at this point. He wasn’t great out there (at least when it mattered), but he looked so much more competent handling the ball than Blake ever does. And he managed to salvage himself a pretty decent line in garbage time.
STAN VAN GUNDY
Head Coach | Pistons
C+
I thought the Pistons looked better than normal coming out of timeouts. Like they were actually running plays. They didn’t always work, but it was good to see.