Knicks rediscover their identity, ruin Pistons' party in Game 3

DETROIT — It’s not the NBA playoffs unless both teams are barking about the officiating, woofing to each other, and huffing about adjustments.

The days of Little Caesars Arena being so cold and quiet, so sterile and nondescript have been replaced by a hot gym and desperate Pistons fans letting Jalen Brunson know exactly what they think of him.

But nobody could account for Karl-Anthony Towns, who reappeared with authority after being seemingly fazed out by his own team.

The New York Knicks came into Detroit and regained home-court advantage with a 118-116 win in Game 3 of their first-round series, with Towns leading the way with 30 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

It was the most significant game for the Pistons franchise in 17 years — a tie series, a crazed playoff atmosphere — and the Pistons pulled out every stop in welcoming the eyes of the NBA back to Detroit.

Franchise legends and sporting legends were acknowledged at every timeout, and Brunson became public enemy No. 1 because of the unsavory foul baiting and flopping from Game 2.

Perhaps things were too hyped, too raucous for a young Pistons team stepping into high stakes — they probably are what the Knicks were last year, in some ways. And perhaps the Knicks sensed nervousness or excitement — or even a bit of satisfaction, then jumped on the game early and had the home team playing from behind all night. They aren’t the most experienced bunch, but they have worlds of it compared to the novices in Detroit.

Towns played with an aggressiveness he hadn’t shown so far in the series, perhaps buoyed by knowing Isaiah Stewart, the Pistons boogeyman, was out for the second straight game with left knee inflammation. The criticisms of Towns at this point are well-known — whether he’ll show up every night, stay engaged defensively and take advantage of his matchup. In Game 2, he allowed himself to be slowed by Tobias Harris, and the Knicks went heavily to Brunson in the fourth quarter. In Game 3, Towns took advantage of slow rotating defenses from Jalen Duren to launch triples with ease.

“Yeah, I got opportunities to do things on the offensive end,” Towns said. “Their defense was — we found a way in transition to get me some good looks and I was able to capitalize on that and it started the night off.”

For a night, the Knicks also took on the identity of what they used to be, what the Pistons are. They were the more desperate team, getting to loose balls, playing with a force that hadn’t been seen very often this year.

Brunson got two layups in transition to give the Knicks a decisive advantage at 112-105 with 59 seconds left — following a Cade Cunningham drive where he lost OG Anunoby but then lost the ball seconds later.

It’s the type of plays that go in your favor when you’re the aggressor, the plays that went Detroit’s way in New York a couple days ago. The NBA’s clutch player of the year seemingly blocked out the noise to do just enough down the stretch, scoring 12 of his 30 points in the final period.

In Game 1, he went to the locker room to find his cape. Thursday, he found resolve.

“Do I think it’s cheers? Uh, no,” Brunson said about the chants from Pistons fans. “But it’s just another way to get me focused and stay composed and stay poised. Just another obstacle and knowing my teammates have my back, it’s nothing.”

The talk of Cunningham being the best player in this series is real, and whichever point guard has dominated, his team has come out on top. Cunningham finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists on just 10-of-25 shooting, matched by Tim Hardaway Jr. hitting seven triples to score 24.

It can’t just be Brunson, just like it can’t be only Cunningham, on his own at this stage. Brunson’s style appears to have a ceiling, and the Knicks might not get that far this time around. Adding Towns brings an element of dynamism and skill, but they lost something in the grit department.

Their record is similar to last year, but it feels like there’s less hope with the way this team performs nightly. Even if they get by the Pistons, the champion Celtics are waiting in Round 2, so it would behoove them to rediscover some of the orneriness they displayed Thursday.

“It’s playoff basketball,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We have guys who have been in a lot of big games, and we’ve been a good road team all year. I think we understand what goes into winning, we had the disappointment form the loss in Game 2, I thought our readiness to play was very good.”

They couldn’t put the Pistons away, despite having a 14-point lead in the first half and taking a 104-93 lead midway through the fourth. That’s where some of that extra energy revived a team that was hard to keep down in this atmosphere, but that’s also where you realize this series is approaching the point where emotion is a finite resource.

Sooner or later, execution and talent will likely take over. The Knicks have the high-level talent in Towns and Brunson, and if they win in the intangibles department, this series could be over in short form.

But neither team is good enough to hide from the other or consistent enough to make the other submit.

The Pistons crowed about Brunson being close to a backcourt violation with five seconds remaining, and it did look perilously close, but lead official Zach Zarba said in the pool report Brunson was allowed to have his momentum carry him into the backcourt.

“You catch the ball, have possession and put it down, to me, possession in the frontcourt — the ball has to be thrown into the backcourt,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “If you catch it in the frontcourt, the ball is not in the backcourt. Again, maybe I’m wrong but we’ll see.”

Cunningham issued a similar statement, but neither would or could deny the Pistons playing from behind all game. Harris didn’t register a bucket until 4:42 left in the fourth quarter. Malik Beasley, he of hundreds of triples this season, has looked anemic since Game 1 — 3 of 18 the last two games from 3-point range.

It’s helped the Knicks collapse defensively on Cunningham, who didn’t get as many open floor opportunities as he did at Madison Square Garden.

The intensity of the games keeps rising as it goes along. Perhaps Sunday a decisive winner will emerge, but for a night the Knicks rediscovered what their version of playoff basketball should look like — and it took the air right out of a building ready for a party.

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Knicks rediscover their identity, ruin Pistons’ party in Game 3

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