Chris HerringApr 30, 2025, 01:17 AM ET
NEW YORK -- Throughout the hard-fought first-round series between the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks, star guard Jalen Brunson has made magic happen late in games.
Brunson, the NBA's Clutch Player of the Year, had keyed his team's come-from-behind victories in Game 1, Game 3 and Game 4 by averaging better than 13 points in the fourth quarter, the highest postseason scoring average in the final period by any NBA player since the play-by-play era began in 1996-97.
All of which made it extremely odd to see Brunson sidelined at the scorer's table as precious time ticked away near the end of the Knicks' 106-103 in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
In holding on late, Detroit thwarted the New York's hopes of ending the series, and instead drew within a game at 3-2 to push things back to the Motor City for Game 6 on Thursday.
The Pistons benefited from a dilemma the Knicks faced regarding how to get two of their starters back into the game after exiting due to injury.
The Pistons, up 95-92 with just under four minutes left, were on offense when Brunson -- trying to guard Detroit star Cade Cunningham -- appeared to tweak the right ankle that has been bothering him since returning from a monthlong late-season injury absence.
After Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns sent the Garden crowd into a tizzy by hitting a 3-pointer to knot things at 95, an airborne Josh Hart fell hard on his back and left wrist while defending a Cunningham layup -- one that center Jalen Duren put back for a basket that put Detroit ahead 97-95.
Both Brunson and Hart were forced to the bench with 2:57 left to play. Hart briefly left the court to be checked out, while Brunson remained on the sideline to give himself a moment to recover.
They each began walking toward the scorer's table, ready to reenter with just under two minutes left and the Pistons ahead 101-95. But with the Knicks having only one timeout left and being out of fouls, coach Tom Thibodeau opted against using the timeout or fouling to get his two starters back into the game.
The clock then bled to the 27-second mark with the Pistons up 103-97.
"It was tough," Brunson acknowledged, while saying that he still had faith and belief in his teammates regardless of the result.
Afterward, Thibodeau said he didn't feel comfortable burning his last timeout that early or sending the Pistons to the line for two free throws.
"It's just where we were with the timeouts -- it was a coach's decision," he said. When pressed on what he was taking into account as time slipped away, he pointed to a number of considerations. "Time. Score. Penalty. All of the above. There's a lot that goes into it."
The defeat left the Knicks without a series-clinching victory at the Garden since the Eastern Conference finals win at home against the Indiana Pacers in 1999.
But it wasn't only the end-of-game ailments and decisions that factored into the Pistons' victory. Detroit received a massive contribution from second-year forward Ausar Thompson, who had repeatedly proved to be Detroit's best defender on Brunson but has often been too inconsistent on offense -- and too foul-prone on defense -- to play in late-game, high-leverage moments.
Thompson was far more composed Tuesday, scoring 22 points in 29 minutes -- on only 10 shots -- allowing Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff to use him in place of the smaller Dennis Schroder down the stretch against Brunson.
As such, Brunson had by far his worst game of the series, shooting just 6-for-16 for 16 points. He'd scored 30 points or more in each of the four previous games against Detroit. And, for the first time all series, there was no explosive fourth quarter from the All-NBA performer.
"It all started with Ausar and his defense. He was phenomenal defensively tonight. A lot of credit should be given to him," Bickerstaff said.
Said Brunson of Thompson: "He's a great defender, with the way he's been able to pick up and do all the things [he does]. Me, personally, and us as a team, we need to figure out how to combat that."
Cunningham got going late for the Pistons. He finished with a team-high 24 points to go with 8 rebounds and 8 assists. He scored in the second half, including 13 in the fourth quarter.
Down 103-97, Mikal Bridges hit a 3 for the Knicks to cut the deficit in half with 25 seconds to play. After a Schroder free throw to push Detroit's edge to 104-100, OG Anunoby kept the Knicks alive by hitting another 3 to bring New York to within one.
The Pistons nearly threw the ball away on the ensuing inbounds pass, with Brunson deflecting it. But Detroit recovered the loose ball, and Cunningham drained two free throws to give his team a three-point lead.
The Knicks ran out of steam when Miles McBride -- after being intentionally fouled by the Pistons to deny him a chance of hitting a potential tying 3 with 2.1 seconds left -- stumbled at the line by missing his first attempt. He then was forced to miss the second, but the clock expired as New York tried to secure the rebound.
