Cunningham had 11 points and two rebounds in the final six minutes of the Pistons’ 106-103 victory, keeping the team alive against the New York Knicks. Two days after the Pistons lost a heartbreaker when Cunningham missed a game-winner and the referees missed a foul on Tim Hardaway’s buzzer-beating attempt, Detroit’s All-Star guard took command down the stretch.
Cunningham was perfect from the foul line and shot 3-of-4 from the field down the stretch, finding Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren for easy baskets and grabbing two rebounds. Even when Karl-Anthony Towns blocked Cunningham’s layup, Duren grabbed the rebound for a dunk.
As for Brunson, he appeared to aggravate an ankle injury late in the fourth quarter, leaving the game and scoring just three points in the final quarter. Instead, it was Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby hitting big three-pointers in the final minute to keep the Knicks close, but New York’s best chance came when Brunson knocked away an inbounds pass with 20 seconds to go, but the Pistons collected the loose ball.
Detroit got help from Cunningham’s supporting cast. Duren grabbed 14 rebounds, seven of them offensive. Tobias Harris scored 17 points and blocked four shots. Thompson scored 22 points in a game where all eight of his made field goals came from within a foot of the basket.
Towns came through defensively in the final quarter, grabbing five rebounds and blocking two shots. But the Pistons defense forced 13 turnovers and kept the Knicks off the three-point line, limiting New York to 25 attempts from distance.
Now the Pistons get to return home for Game 6 after three straight games going down to the wire. With the last three games having been decided by a total of six points, this series may well come to down to which All-Star is most clutch. Or whether Brunson’s ankle heals well.
