The national anthem had just wrapped at Madison Square Garden for Game 1, and for a second, it was hard not to pause and think: man, the Pistons really made it to the postseason.

A year ago, they were the punchline of the league — losing 28 straight and barely cracking double digits in the win column. Fast forward 12 months, and here they were in a playoff series, walking into MSG with 30 more wins.

They weren’t some underdog story being dragged along for TV ratings either — they earned it. This was a real step forward for a franchise that’s been rebuilding for what feels like forever, and while they knew the Knicks weren’t going to roll out the welcome mat, Detroit looked like they belonged. That alone says something.

Thing is, the Knicks weren’t showing up to be part of anyone’s feel-good story. They’d been in this spot before — twice, actually — and knew exactly what playoff basketball demands. They weren’t rattled by the noise, the pressure, or the bright lights.

Six games, four wild finishes, and one very loud 21‑0 run later, New York walked away with a 4‑2 series win and a ticket to Boston. Detroit, meanwhile, learned the cruel playoff truth: growth spurts come with growing pains.

Inside the Series: Big Moments, Small Margins

Game 1 – The Garden Gasp

Final: Knicks 123, Pistons 112

Detroit was up eight heading into the fourth, and for a minute, it looked like they might steal one at the Garden. But then everything unraveled in a hurry. Jalen Brunson caught fire — he dropped 12 of his 34 in the quarter — and Cam Payne came in off the bench and knocked down some tough buckets to keep the momentum rolling. Before the Pistons could regroup, the Knicks had rattled off a 21-0 run and completely flipped the game.

It wasn’t just New York getting hot — it was Detroit getting sloppy. Eight turnovers in the fourth, and not the forced kind either. We’re talking missed passes, rushed decisions, and just trying to do too much. That’s what playoff experience looks like. The Knicks had it. The Pistons are still learning.

Game 2 – Streak Busted on Broadway

Final: Pistons 100, Knicks 94

Seventeen years. Fifteen straight playoff losses. Cade Cunningham decided enough was enough. The second‑year star dropped 33‑12, Dennis Schroder buried the dagger three with 55 ticks left, and Detroit finally tasted a postseason W for the first time since the Rasheed Wallace era.

Credit the defense, too: the Pistons hounded New York into under a point per possession and — quietly huge — held Karl‑Anthony Towns scoreless after halftime. Series tied, narrative flipped.

Game 3 – Towns Roars Back, Brunson Slams the Door

Final: Knicks 118, Pistons 116

Back in the Motor City, Towns showed why the Knicks were willing to give up so much to get him: 11 quick points in the first quarter, 31 overall. Brunson added 30 and orchestrated crunch time like a seasoned maestro — his 12 fourth‑quarter points were the difference in the game.

Detroit erased a six‑point hole late but never re‑took the lead, and New York’s 120.4 offensive rating on 98 possessions showed a trending theme: when their stars synced up, the Knicks were nearly unguardable.

Game 4 – Controversy & Clutch

Final: Knicks 94, Pistons 93

If Game 3 was a shootout, Game 4 was a street fight. The Pistons flipped a 16‑point deficit into an 11‑point cushion, only to watch Brunson, Towns, and a frantic Josh Hart rally New York back.

The lasting image from Game 4 will undoubtedly be Tim Hardaway Jr. rising up for a potential game-winner, getting clearly hit on the shooting arm, and… nothing.

No whistle. No call. Just stunned faces and angry Pistons fans throwing their hands up. The NBA came out later and admitted they blew it — and yeah, it was pretty obvious in real time — but that doesn’t exactly help Detroit now.

That missed call wasn’t just frustrating — it kept the Pistons from tying the series and snapped away their best shot at flipping momentum. It also extended a brutal streak: Detroit still hasn’t won a playoff game at home since 2008.

Game 5 – Cade Keeps Hope Alive

Final: Pistons 106, Knicks 103

This one was all about hanging on for dear life. With their season on the line in Game 5, the Pistons got exactly what they needed from Cade Cunningham. He either scored or assisted on 11 of their 14 clutch points and ended the night just shy of a triple-double with 24, 8, and 8. He controlled the game down the stretch, not forcing anything, just making the right reads and trusting his spots.

On the flip side, Brunson finally came back down to earth. Just 16 points on 4-for-16 shooting, and the Knicks looked a little out of rhythm, especially when Tom Thibodeau sat Brunson for a couple of key minutes in the fourth that didn’t make a whole lot of sense. OG Anunoby still chipped in 19 and kept it close, but Detroit’s starting five was flat-out better that night. They outscored the Knicks by 27 when all five were on the floor together.

It wasn’t pretty, but it was gritty — and just like that, the Pistons had the series back to 3–2 and were heading home with a real shot to force Game 7.

Game 6 – Brunson’s Dagger, Detroit’s Heartbreak

Final: Knicks 116, Pistons 113

Little Caesars was rocking, Malik Beasley — who nearly led the league in three-pointers through the regular season off the bench — hit five first‑half threes, and Detroit led by seven inside two minutes. Then Brunson did what he's done so many times this season.

A scoop layup, a twisting mid‑range, and finally the cold‑blooded step‑back triple with 4.3 seconds left — his 40th point — iced both the game and the series. Detroit never got a shot off; Beasley fumbled Cade’s pass, and 20,000 fans went home knowing their streak of home playoff losses would continue into its 18th year.

New York moves on; Detroit moves forward.

Series Themes & Stat Nuggets

1. Brunson the Barbarian

Nobody in blue and orange needed a reminder, but Jalen Brunson provided one anyway: he’s the kind of closer who makes late‑game chaos look like light cardio. He wasn't given the Clutch Player of the Year award for no reason.

He torched Detroit for 30 points a night on a tidy 55 percent true‑shooting clip. He also joins Bernard King as the only Knicks ever to notch three 40‑point series clinchers. Whether it was the 21‑0 run in Game 1 or the ice‑cold dagger in Game 6, Brunson’s feel for tempo kept New York’s offense from slipping into "your turn, my turn" mode. His pull‑up gravity also dragged Detroit’s bigs away from the paint, opening easy dump‑offs for Josh Hart and slot cuts for OG Anunoby.

If you’re making a short list of guards who can rip a defense apart with craft instead of pure burst, Brunson is already near the top.

2. Cade’s Coming‑Out Party

Detroit didn’t leave the series with a win, but they did leave with something far more valuable: proof that Cade Cunningham is that guy. The 6‑foot‑7 maestro averaged 25‑8-9 with a veteran’s patience — cross-court passes, hostage dribbles, you name it.

Yes, the 5.3 turnovers per game hurt, but context matters: Bickerstaff handed him the keys against a swarming Thibodeau scheme that’s buried plenty of young ball‑handlers. Cade responded by hunting mismatches on switches, punishing drop coverage with mid‑range pull‑ups, and — maybe most impressive — calling his own number when possessions bogged down.

The best snapshot came in Game 5 when he either scored or assisted on 11 of Detroit’s 14 clutch points, single‑handedly extending the series. For a franchise starving for a North Star, that’s priceless.

3. Turnovers Tell Tales

If there’s a stat that doubles as a cautionary tale, it’s Detroit’s 17.3 turnovers in their losses. That number wasn’t a fluke. It’s what happens when you’ve got a young team still figuring out how tight the margin for error is in the playoffs. Passes that work in January get picked off in April, especially against guys like Brunson and Hart, who are always looking to jump a passing lane and turn it into two the other way.

Fixing that has to be near the top of J.B. Bickerstaff's offseason to-do list. We’ll probably see more sets that put Cade in simpler decision-making spots — maybe working more from the elbows or the low post where the reads are clearer. And don’t be surprised if they bring in a vet who doesn’t overthink — just catches the ball, gets square, and lets it fly. Sometimes that’s all you need when the pressure’s turned up.

4. Battle of the Bigs

Karl-Anthony Towns had a bit of a rollercoaster series. When he was on, he made life tough for Detroit — stretching the floor, punishing mismatches, and knocking down big-time shots like the go-ahead three in Game 4. That Game 3 explosion, where he dropped 31 points, was the perfect example of how unfair he can make things look when he’s locked in.

But it wasn’t always that smooth. Towns had a scoreless second half in Game 2, struggled with efficiency in Game 5, and fouled out in Game 6 with just 10 points in a game where the Knicks needed every bit of grit from everyone else to get it done. When he wasn’t rolling, the rest of the team had to grind around him — Brunson shouldering more of the load, Hart flying in for extra boards, Bridges and Anunoby stepping into secondary scoring roles.

On the flip side, Jalen Duren did his part for Detroit. The 20-year-old showed serious flashes — averaging over 10 rebounds and swatting shots at the rim. His bounce made New York think twice about attacking inside. He’s not quite there yet in terms of polish or consistency, but the tools are certainly there.

The Road Only Gets Tougher From Here

Boston awaits, and nobody needs a reminder that the defending champs have the deepest team in the league, a defense built like a brick wall, and enough three‑point shooters to light up Times Square. Brunson hero‑ball alone won’t cut it this time.

The good news? Mikal Bridges finally looks comfy in the corner‑sniper/secondary‑creator lane — he’s buried 38 percent of his threes over the last four games — and Josh Hart is still that guy who stuffs every column of the box‑score like he’s getting paid per stat. Expect Hart to spend long stretches chasing Jaylen Brown while Bridges (and, in crunch time, OG Anunoby) take turns shadowing Jayson Tatum.

Up front, Karl‑Anthony Towns is the real swing piece. If he drags Kristaps Porzingis or 38‑year‑old Al Horford out to the arc and then slashes past them, Boston’s help rotations will scramble and Brunson’s driving lanes turn into I‑95 at 3 a.m. — wide open. If KAT settles for early‑clock fadeaways, New York will be looking up at the Celtics for a majority of this series.

Tom Thibodeau also has to iron out the rotation wrinkles that nearly sank Game 5 against Detroit. Isaiah Hartenstein’s high‑post passing can pry open Boston’s weak‑side corners, but only if he actually sees the floor. Same deal for Donte DiVincenzo: his off‑ball chaos could be the difference in these games.

The Celtics are deeper, longer, and they own home‑court. But if the Knicks’ supporting cast keeps humming and Brunson stays in that Steph‑at‑Oracle state of mind, don’t be shocked if this thing goes six or seven and has the fans at TD Garden biting their nails.

Building Something Real in Detroit

The Pistons didn’t walk away from this series with a win, but they didn’t leave empty-handed either. They’ve got something real to build on. Going from 14 wins to 44 and finally snapping that brutal postseason losing streak wasn’t just a feel-good stat — it was a sign this thing is finally pointing in the right direction.

They’re not a finished product. Not even close. But they’re not stuck in neutral anymore either. The foundation is there now — it just needs some polish, some patience, and a few more pieces to round it out.

They really need to get Jaden Ivey all the way healthy and comfortable as the full‑throttle sixth man. Ivey’s downhill burst is one of the few things in the league you can’t coach, and letting him cook against bench units could tilt second quarters in Detroit’s favor next spring. Pair that with the sneaky leap we just saw from Jalen Duren — 1.7 blocks a night this series and a top‑five in rebounds since February — and suddenly the core looks like a home‑grown pick‑and‑roll nightmare for opponents.

The Pistons climbed from 28th to 12th in defensive rating by chasing shooters off the line and trusting Duren to erase mistakes. Give that scheme another offseason, sprinkle in a grizzled vet who talks on defense, and you’re flirting with a top‑10 unit.

Nobody’s getting ahead of themselves — there’s still plenty of work to do — but for a team that’s been stuck in the rebuild cycle for years, this finally feels like progress that actually means something.

Two Different Teams, Two Different Timelines

Playoff basketball doesn’t usually hand out bonus points for effort. The Pistons played hard, showed growth, and still came up just short. When the game slowed down and it was time to make a play, Brunson knew exactly what to do.

New York leaned on his calm under pressure and got timely help from the rest of the roster when it counted. Detroit’s young guys gave them a fight, but the Knicks had already been through battles like this before — and that made the difference.

For the Knicks, the road trip continues up I‑95 with momentum and an ever‑growing belief that anything is possible when No. 11 has the ball. For the Pistons, the bus heads into an offseason filled with tape sessions, weight‑room reps, and the kind of optimism that only comes from finally mattering again.