DETROIT-JALEN BRUSON made a 3-point pointer with 5.1 seconds to play and finished with 40 points to lead the New York Knicks to a 116-113 victory against the Pistons de Detroit Thursday evening and in the semi-final of the NBA qualifiers.
“He is at his best when his best is necessary and he did it all year round,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. “This is what makes him special.”
In the 4th quarter, the pistons made a 20-2 race to take a seven-point lead with 2:35 to play; At this stage, the Knicks had 7% chance of winning, according to ESPN Analytics.
But New York ended the match on a 11-1 race.
Detroit did not get a blow to potentially equalize the match and send it to extension because Malik Beasley groped a pass with four tenths of a second to the left.
The Knicks, the third seeded, will then face Boston, the second seeded, shooting to qualify for the final of the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2000.
Mikal Bridges collected 25 points and Og Anunoby added 22 for the Knicks, who closed the match with clutch shots and stops after losing an 11 -point lead in the fourth quarter and a 15 -point advantage in the second quarter.
The pistons of the sixth seeded experienced an unprecedented turnaround during the regular season and ended the longest sequence of losses in the NBA qualifiers during their first appearance in the playoffs since 2019, but have beat another league brand with a 10th consecutive backwards dating from 2008.
“We have done a lot and we have given a chance,” said Detroit coach JB Bickerstaff. “They just played a game more than us.”
Cade Cunningham de Detroit collected 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Cunningham was 0 for 8 out of 3 points and his rear area Tim Hardaway Jr. was 1 in 6 beyond the arc and scored seven points.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
