Survival in the Garden: Pistons Escape Knicks in Game 5 Thriller to Force Game 6

The Detroit Pistons held off a furious late push from the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, escaping with a 106–103 win to extend the series and force a Game 6 back in Detroit.

Knicks VS Pistons FINAL SCORE

With the series on the line, Game 5 at Madison Square Garden tipped off with both teams facing vastly different stakes. For the Knicks, this was the first step in a mission to punch their ticket to the second round. For Detroit, it was about survival: trying to steal one on the road and extend the series toward a potential Game 6. But if fans came in expecting fireworks from the jump, the early minutes served up more grit than grace, with both teams struggling to find any rhythm in a scrappy dog-fight.

Detroit held the first possession, but Cade Cunningham missed an early three, setting the stage for a clunky offensive rhythm from both sides. Josh Hart was rejected by Tobias Harris just as the shot clock expired, and even Jalen Brunson looked out of sync with a couple of early miscues, including a sloppy turnover and a missed shot on a drive. The Pistons attacked first at the line through Ausar Thompson, and Jalen Duren added a much-needed put-back. But Hart responded the only way he knows how: blitzing up the court for a solo fast-break finish to get New York on the board.

Both teams coughed up horrible turnovers, and neither could drop a bucket from beyond the arc. Yet it was OG Anunoby who made the first real statement. He was out there contesting multiple shooters, swatting Cade Cunningham on the break, and later suffocating Holland II without fouling. His activity on defense was nothing short of spectacular, guarding numerous actions all within a single possession.

Later in the first, a corner three from Hart followed by a clean mid-range pull-up from Miles McBride gave New York a mini jolt. Mikal Bridges struggled early, but Anunoby’s strength showed out again with a spin-and-finish move against the six-foot-one Dennis Schroder. Still, both teams were questionable (to say the least) from deep: the Knicks shot just 16.7% from three, while Detroit sat at 30%.

Hart led all Knicks scorers after one, and despite all the carelessness, New York held a narrow 23-22 lead.

The second quarter opened with more clunk than clarity. The Knicks turned it over on their first possession, but Detroit failed to take advantage. Karl-Anthony Towns couldn’t make use of a second-chance bucket and picked up a loose ball foul, while Cam Payne checked in and quickly made his mark (first with a trey and then drawing a charge against Holland II).

Mitchell Robinson came alive just shortly after, clutching a McBride miss and punishing the rim with a mean put-back slam. But things took a concerning turn for Detroit when Harris took an awful shot to the eye. He remained on the floor, though, and responded with a corner three and a mid-range jumper like nothing happened. Despite his setback with his eye, Harris was Detroit’s most efficient and consistent threat in the second.

Then, New York got a lift from Bridges' smooth mid-range jumper and OG’s aggressive rim attacks. Anunoby was absolutely surgical out there. He was doing a little bit of everything: pump-faking, physical drives, and efficient finishes. With Duren in foul trouble and back on the bench, the Knicks relied onto their ball movement. A smooth Hart assist resulted in an OG corner three, and later, Towns muscled through Harris for a gritty and-one, flexing after the bucket with a much-deserved celebration.

Still, the Pistons stayed neck-and-neck against the Knicks, with Schroder stringing together five straight points to tie the game at 44. Towns then piled a three of his own after Hart cleaned up a Brunson block, but Detroit was still hanging.

Knicks Coach Tom Thibodeau

Heading into the half, after ten lead changes and some erratic execution, the Knicks led 50-49 over the Pistons.

The third quarter opened with a stumble for the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns launched an airball as the shot clock expired, drawing the ire of Coach Tom Thibodeau, who was clearly frustrated with the offensive stagnation. While Cade Cunningham stepped out of bounds to rack up Detroit’s 10th turnover, the Pistons quickly regrouped. Thompson filed a breakaway dunk under his name, Hardaway Jr. planted a three, and Cade willed his way into the paint for an and-one, putting Detroit ahead during an 8-0 run that forced Coach Tom Thibodeau to burn a timeout.

However, lucky for the Knicks, OG Anunoby remained a steady presence, canning a jumper early and later sparking a critical sequence with a defensive rebound that set up a Josh Hart fast-break score. Brunson responded with a tough second-chance finish and later fed Hart for a sneaky backdoor reverse bucket. But, that didn't stop Detroit as they continued to apply pressure. Duren denied Hart at the rim, pushing the Pistons' block total to a roaring eight, while the Knicks trailed just behind with seven of their own.

Jalen Brunson After the Loss

With Detroit’s lead inflating to double digits (10), Brunson beat the buzzer with a wild contested-three over Schroder that reignited the Garden crowd. That shot sparked a late surge: Hart went coast-to-coast, OG drove downhill, and Robinson punished the rim. Still, Detroit wouldn’t fold under pressure. Beasley floated in a late jumper and Cade tallied two free-throws despite struggling from the field (three-of-11). Mikal Bridges ended the quarter with a smooth turnaround, keeping the Knicks within striking distance.

By the end of the third quarter, Detroit led 77-74 over New York.

The fourth quarter was a rollercoaster of emotion at the Garden. Deuce McBride opened with a burst in transition, but every Knicks push was met by a Pistons counterpunch. A missed KAT fadeaway led to an unsuccessful challenge by Detroit, which resulted in Towns drilling all three from behind the line, tying the game at 79. Bridges then rained down a transition three to reclaim the lead, only for Schroder to instantly tie it again.

Cade Cunningham and Duren took over midway through the quarter, capitalizing on the Knicks' foul trouble as both Mitch and KAT picked up five fouls apiece. Brunson gave the Knicks a spark with a clutch and-one from a deadly fadeaway, but Detroit’s size and smart-play execution began to wear them down. Cunningham kept drawing contact and finishing at the line, and later stepped up with a timely open three to give Detroit a crucial late lead with only under three minutes to play.

The setbacks piled up for the Knicks when both Brunson and Hart exited briefly with injuries but couldn’t check back in immediately. New York had only one timeout remaining and couldn’t afford to use it, and with Detroit already in the bonus, they couldn’t stop the clock by fouling either.

As you can see here, things didn't look exactly good for New York.

Still, the Knicks nearly pulled off the impossible. Mikal Bridges tried to will New York into the second round, drilling a massive three with 25.3 seconds left. On the ensuing inbound, Detroit nearly coughed up the ball, but Beasley managed to recover it just in time. OG Anunoby quickly fouled Schroder, who made just one of two free throws. Towns then secured the rebound and kicked it out to OG, who buried a heavily contested triple (that appeared rather impossible to make) over Cunningham to bring the Knicks within one.

With 5.7 seconds remaining, Brunson fouled Cade Cunningham, who calmly sank both free throws. Detroit then smartly fouled Deuce McBride before he could get a shot off, double-teaming him in the process and draining valuable seconds off the clock. McBride ultimately missed both free throws, and the final rebound was swatted away as the buzzer sounded on a heartbreaking 106-103 loss for New York.

The Pistons had done it: they survived and forced a Game 6 back at Little Caesars Arena.

Overall, the defeated Knicks had six players in double-figures: the mastermind OG Anunoby with 19 points and eight rebounds, both Towns and Bridges matching for 17 points, Brunson hitting 16 points and seven assists, Hart tallying 15-7-6, and Mitchell Robinson with big minutes serving up 13 points and 11 rebounds.

On the other hand, the victorious Pistons had Cunningham leading them with 24 points and eight assists and rebounds despite being quiet in the first, Thompson surging with 22 points and seven rebounds, Harris putting up 17 points and eight rebounds, Schroder nailing 14 points, and Beasley touching double-figures with 10 points.

Next up, the New York Knicks will travel back to Little Caesar’s Arena to try to secure a series win over Detroit for Game 6 on Thursday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. E.S.T.