Just when you thought a Knicks vs. Pistons seven-game playoff series couldn’t escalate any further — it did.
The Knicks 94–93 win over Detroit in Game 4 didn’t just feel like a rerun of Game 3. It gave fans something even rarer: basketball in its purest, rawest form.
A familiar script, and a familiar struggle
Much like Game 3, the Knicks started hot, building a solid first-half lead that should’ve been enough to cruise to a 3–1 series advantage. But if Detroit has mastered anything in this series, it's disrupting comfort.
Detroit's aggressive, physical approach has hurt them as much as it’s helped. Whether it’s starters racking up fouls or JB Bickerstaff’s questionable judgment on when (and when not) to challenge officiating calls, Detroit continues to shoot itself in the foot. Tobias Harris, the often-overlooked veteran presence, picked up his fifth foul midway through the third quarter, forcing the Pistons deeper into a bench they can’t afford to rely on.
Still, Detroit got exactly what it needed to stay alive: missed Knicks shots and a wounded Jalen Brunson.
New York went 5-of-21 from the field and scored just 14 points in a brutal third quarter. Meanwhile, Brunson exited late in the period after clutching his knee, giving the Pistons an opening—and a chance at their first home playoff win since 2008.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson saved the day
Brunson returned early in the fourth — and everything changed.
He posted 15 points in the fourth quarter, either scoring or assisting on 8 of the Knicks' final 10 field goals.
The other two crucial buckets? They came from Karl-Anthony Towns, who drilled a heavily contested turnaround over Harris and followed it with a cold-blooded 27-foot crossover three to give New York the lead with 47 seconds left.
When the dust settled, Brunson and Towns had combined for 59 of the Knicks' 94 points.
That’s not just stepping up. That’s owning the moment.
Referees missed a call on the game's last shot
Yes, the missed foul call on Josh Hart’s contest of Tim Hardaway Jr.'s last-second three was a blatant miss by the referees. No question.
But in a series where the Pistons have loudly branded themselves as the tougher, more aggressive team, seeing them pivot to lobbying for whistles — and crumbling when they don't get them — makes for tough optics. Just flash back to Game 2 when a missed Jalen Duren foul on a Josh Hart dunk could've altered both teams' approach in the closing minutes.
Detroit can't demand the "tough team" identity and then melt when playoff basketball gets messy. Fighting back down 15 is far from "weak," but then again, maybe Detroit should've saved their challenge for times they needed them most.
Now the Knicks return to Madison Square Garden with a 3–1 series lead — and a chance to finish things Tuesday night. One team will adjust. One team will survive. And right now, New York looks a lot more ready to do both.