The Detroit Pistons snapped its file 15-game NBA playoff shedding streak with a 100-94 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday to stage their Japanese Convention first-round sequence at one sport apiece.
Cade Cunningham scored 33 factors with 12 rebounds, and Dennis Schroder added 20 factors off the bench – together with a go-ahead three-pointer with 55.7 seconds left – because the Pistons thwarted one other Knicks’ rally bid.
The Los Angeles Clippers additionally bounced again from a game-one defeat, beating the Nuggets 105-102 in Denver behind a superb 39-point efficiency from Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard made 15 of his 19 shot makes an attempt, and the Clippers withstood NBA Most Useful Participant Nikola Jokic’s triple-double of 26 factors, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to stage their Western Convention sequence at 1-1.
The Pistons, within the playoffs for the primary time since 2019, notched their first playoff victory since sport 4 of the 2008 Japanese Convention finals in opposition to the Boston Celtics.
Two days after the Knicks authored a 21-0 scoring run to rally in sport one, the Pistons had been pushed to the end in a fast-paced, bodily encounter at Madison Sq. Backyard.
Detroit led by as many as 15 within the third quarter, however the Knicks had minimize the deficit to eight going into the ultimate interval.
New York star Jalen Brunson scored 14 of his 37 factors within the fourth and fed Josh Hart for a dunk that tied it at 94-94 with 1:15 to play.
However Schroder answered instantly, drilling a three-pointer that put the Pistons forward for good.
The Knicks got here up empty on three straight possessions whereas Schroder and Jalen Duren linked on the free-throw line to seal Detroit’s win.
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Tobias Harris scored 15 factors and pulled down 13 rebounds and Duren had 12 factors and 13 boards for the Pistons, who host sport three on Thursday.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was irked at what he thought-about inconsistent officiating, noting that the Pistons went to the free-throw line 34 occasions to the Knicks’ 19.
Classic Leonard
It was one other pulsating contest in Denver, the place the Clippers bounced again from a slender game-one time beyond regulation defeat due to a classic efficiency from Leonard — an NBA champion in 2014 and 2019 who has been hindered by harm in latest seasons.
Leonard set the tone early, making 9 of his 10 pictures within the first half and sending the Clippers into halftime up 55-52 with a buzzer-beating three-pointer.
In a sport that featured 18 lead modifications, the Nuggets tied it at 100-100 with 2:07 to play on a three-pointer by Murray.
However Norman Powell got here up with a steal and drained a three-pointer, and Leonard made a leap shot to place the Clippers up 105-102. Leonard stole a Jokic move with 37.3 seconds lef,t and Los Angeles held on as Christian Braun and Jokic missed within the waning seconds.
“I simply saved going and stayed within the zone,” Leonard mentioned. “I didn’t fear about what pictures had been making or lacking. I simply saved capturing.”