Cade Cunningham had 29 points and 13 assists as the host Detroit Pistons dominated a matchup of Eastern Conference powers, thumping the New York Knicks, 121-90, on Monday night.
The teams entered the week in the top two spots in the Eastern Conference standings. The Knicks, who lost their fourth straight, were no match for the conference leaders. Detroit led by 10 at halftime and outscored them 25-15 in the third quarter to take total command.
Javonte Green supplied 17 points, Jaden Ivey tossed in 16 and Daniss Jenkins added 12, as Detroit’s reserves notched 58 points.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 25 points but committed six turnovers and didn’t record an assist. Miles McBride had 17 points and Mikal Bridges chipped in 10.
This was the first game between the teams since the Knicks eliminated the Pistons during the first round of last season’s playoffs.
Cunningham had 14 points and seven assists by halftime as the Pistons took a 64-54 lead. His counterpart, Brunson, scored 17 points in the first half. The Pistons ratcheted up their defensive pressure during the second quarter, forcing nine turnovers which led to 12 points.
Cunningham opened the second half with a 3-pointer to push Detroit’s advantage to 13 points. That started a 14-2 run that increased the lead to 22 points.
Cunningham had a hand in all of those points. He set up Ausar Thompson for a dunk, then made two free throws and a fadeaway jump shot. He then threw an alley-oop pass to Paul Reed for a dunk and finished off the outburst with another 3-pointer.
After Cunningham made a jumper for an 83-59 lead, the Knicks chipped away. A Brunson jumper with one minute left in the quarter cut Detroit’s lead to 16 but Ivey scored the last four points of the quarter to give the Pistons an 89-69 lead.
Cunningham assisted on the Pistons’ first four baskets of the fourth quarter.
