New York Knicks vs Detroit Pistons

The New York Knicks have a chance to seal their first-round playoff series against the Detroit Pistons in Wednesday’s game at Madison Square Garden.

Trailing 3-1 after the first four games, the Pistons face a daunting challenge to advance to the conference semi-finals and must now summon an extraordinary effort.

Favored to overcome the Pistons, the third-seeded Knicks traveled to Detroit with work ahead, having split the first two home games, leaving the series evenly poised.

Under Tom Thibodeau’s leadership, the Knicks secured a gritty 118-116 victory in Game Three on Friday, taking the lead, and entered Sunday’s Game Four determined to move one step closer to victory.

New York surged ahead in the first half, building a 16-point lead at one stage, but their advantage evaporated in the third quarter. Trailing by seven entering the final period, they staged a remarkable comeback to claim the win.

Continuing their Game Three form, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns shone for the Knicks, scoring 32 and 27 points, respectively, and accounting for all 15 of their team’s closing points.

Back on their home court for a potential series-clinching Game Five, the Knicks are eager to wrap things up swiftly, avoiding another trip to Detroit and earning rest before the conference semi-finals.

The Detroit Pistons managed to win one game against New York in their earlier games yet two close losses for them now puts their playoff elimination at risk.

On Sunday evening the officials made a questionable decision to not call shooting foul on Josh Hart against Tim Hardaway Jr when JB Bickerstaff and his team reacted with strong displeasure to the play.

The Pistons must immediately pull back from considering their latest setbacks because they face a difficult task to overcome a 3-1 deficit which NBA history reveals only happened 13 times with the latest instance occurring during the 2020 season.

The Pistons added their name to history by accomplishing a comeback victory in the expansion best-of-seven first round of 2003 when they eliminated the Orlando Magic.

The Pistons demonstrated their fourth consecutive win in rebounding their opponents while maintaining their floor presence on defense but their frequent turnovers continued to limit their additional scoring opportunities.
Mitchell Robinson remains the only Knicks player with a health issue which restricted him to playing only one minute during the second half and nine minutes throughout the game last time.

As the Knicks' floor general Brunson now holds 15 30-point points scoring games in the playoffs taking him only three below Patrick Ewing's franchise record of 18 at the home venue.

The Detroit Pistons shooting guard Jaden Ivey remains sidelined by a lower leg problem but medical experts predict his return from injury to happen in the next two weeks.