Detroit Pistons @ New York Knicks
Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at 7:30 PM ET
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY | Game ID: 42400125
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NYK 23 27 24 29 103DET 22 27 28 29 106
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Pistons beat Knicks 106-103 in Game 5 to stay alive in the first-round series
NEW YORK -- — The players the Pistons put together to turn a 14-win team into a playoff squad aren't ready to split up for the summer.
Instead, they're going back to Detroit together — and maybe back to New York after that.
Cade Cunningham had 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and the Pistons stayed alive in their first postseason appearance since 2019 by beating the Knicks 106-103 on Tuesday night in Game 5 of their first-round series.
The Pistons insisted they felt no extra pressure when they talked Tuesday morning on what could have been their last shootaround of a season in which they went 44-38 in one of the biggest turnarounds from one season to the next in NBA history.
“Everybody’s got a back’s-against-the-wall type of mentality, but the group really loves being around each other and I think that was one of the biggest things,” forward Tobias Harris said. “Like, we don’t want this thing to stop. Like, we’ve got to keep on fighting.”
Ausar Thompson added 22 points and Harris had 17 for the Pistons, who will have a chance to even things up Thursday night at home in Game 6. If they win that, the deciding game would be back at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
Detroit, though, has lost an NBA record-tying nine straight home games since 2008.
But the Pistons seem comfortable in New York, where they were 2-0 in the regular season and now 2-1 in this series, including their Game 2 victory that snapped their 15-game postseason losing streak, the longest in NBA history.
Not surprisingly, they still like their chances in the series.
“Confident," Cunningham said. “We'll be back.”
OG Anunoby scored 19 points for the Knicks, who were trying to reach the Eastern Conference semifinals for the third straight season but never fully recovered from a poor start. Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges each had 17, but Jalen Brunson had his worst game of the postseason with 16 points on 4-for-16 shooting.
“We just put ourselves in a deficit early,” Towns said. “All series we’ve been fighting back.”
The game was tied at 95 before Jalen Duren made consecutive baskets and Cunningham scored for a six-point lead. The Pistons got a good break when Brunson and Josh Hart both left the game with injuries with 2:57 remaining and play went on for a while without a stoppage when they were ready to return. By the time they could, there were only 27 seconds left.
Brunson had scored 30 or more points in every game of the series and was averaging 33.3 through four games before not even getting halfway there Tuesday, when the Knicks were trying to win a series on their home floor for the first time since the 1999 Eastern Conference finals.
Now they will try to do it in Detroit, where they won Games 3 and 4.
Duren finished with nine points, 14 rebounds and six assists.
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
CuDuJrHaTh 6 12 +5 4 13 31 1 5 20 3 4 75 2 6 8 2 0 2 2 2
DET Cunningham, Duren, Hardaway Jr., Harris, Thompson
in Cunningham, Duren, Hardaway Jr., Harris, Thompson
out ---
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
BeCuJrHaRe 1 0 -5 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
DET Beasley, Cunningham, Hardaway Jr., Harris, Reed
in Beasley, Reed
out Duren, Thompson
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
BeCuHaReSc 2 3 +1 1 2 50 1 2 50 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0
DET Beasley, Cunningham, Harris, Reed, Schröder
in Schröder
out Hardaway Jr.
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
BeCuIiReSc 1 5 +3 1 3 33 1 1 100 2 2 100 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
DET Beasley, Cunningham, Holland II, Reed, Schröder
in Holland II
out Harris
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
BeJrIiReSc 1 2 -5 1 2 50 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 2
DET Beasley, Hardaway Jr., Holland II, Reed, Schröder
in Hardaway Jr.
out Cunningham
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
BeHaIiReSc 2 0 -2 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
DET Beasley, Harris, Holland II, Reed, Schröder
in Harris
out Hardaway Jr.
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
BeDuJrHaSc 3 9 +3 4 6 67 1 2 50 0 0 0 1 2 3 2 0 0 1 1
DET Beasley, Duren, Hardaway Jr., Harris, Schröder
in Duren, Hardaway Jr.
out Holland II, Reed
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
CuDuJrHaTh 3 9 +5 4 6 67 0 0 0 1 1 100 1 4 5 4 0 1 1 0
DET Cunningham, Duren, Hardaway Jr., Harris, Thompson
in Cunningham, Thompson
out Beasley, Schröder
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
BeCuHaScTh 1 7 +1 3 3 100 1 1 100 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 2
DET Beasley, Cunningham, Harris, Schröder, Thompson
in Beasley, Schröder
out Duren, Hardaway Jr.
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
BeJrHaScTh 1 0 -5 0 4 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 2 1 3 0 0 1 0 2
DET Beasley, Hardaway Jr., Harris, Schröder, Thompson
in Hardaway Jr.
out Cunningham
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
CuDuJrHaTh 7 20 +11 7 12 58 2 4 50 3 4 75 1 7 8 6 1 1 1 2
DET Cunningham, Duren, Hardaway Jr., Harris, Thompson
in Cunningham, Duren
out Beasley, Schröder
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
BeCuDuHaTh :46 1 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 75 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
DET Beasley, Cunningham, Duren, Harris, Thompson
in Beasley
out Hardaway Jr.
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
BeCuHaReSc 3 6 -1 2 6 33 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 1 2
DET Beasley, Cunningham, Harris, Reed, Schröder
in Reed, Schröder
out Duren, Thompson
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
BeCuDuHaSc 2 2 -1 1 5 20 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0
DET Beasley, Cunningham, Duren, Harris, Schröder
in Duren
out Reed
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
BeDuJrHaSc 2 4 -2 1 3 33 0 2 0 2 2 100 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 1
DET Beasley, Duren, Hardaway Jr., Harris, Schröder
in Hardaway Jr.
out Cunningham
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
BeCuDuJrTh 2 3 -2 1 2 50 0 0 0 1 2 50 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 2
DET Beasley, Cunningham, Duren, Hardaway Jr., Thompson
in Cunningham, Thompson
out Harris, Schröder
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
CuDuJrHaTh 5 13 +6 4 8 50 1 1 100 2 2 100 2 6 8 1 0 1 1 1
DET Cunningham, Duren, Hardaway Jr., Harris, Thompson
in Harris
out Beasley
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
AnBrBrHaTo 6 7 -5 3 10 30 0 2 0 1 2 50 1 4 5 1 0 2 1 3
NYK Anunoby, Bridges, Brunson, Hart, Towns
in Anunoby, Bridges, Brunson, Hart, Towns
out ---
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
AnBrHaMcRo 6 16 +6 6 14 43 1 4 25 3 5 60 6 5 11 5 2 3 5 2
NYK Anunoby, Brunson, Hart, McBride, Robinson
in McBride, Robinson
out Bridges, Towns
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
BrMcPaRoTo 5 8 -1 4 11 36 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 2 5 1 0 0 0 2
NYK Bridges, McBride, Payne, Robinson, Towns
in Bridges, Payne, Towns
out Anunoby, Brunson, Hart
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
AnBrBrHaTo 14 28 -10 10 26 38 3 8 38 5 7 71 3 8 11 5 0 2 2 11
NYK Anunoby, Bridges, Brunson, Hart, Towns
in Anunoby, Brunson, Hart
out McBride, Payne, Robinson
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
AnBrBrHaRo :46 2 +1 1 2 50 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2
NYK Anunoby, Bridges, Brunson, Hart, Robinson
in Robinson
out Towns
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
AnBrHaMcRo 4 11 +4 4 4 100 1 1 100 2 4 50 0 5 5 1 1 1 3 0
NYK Anunoby, Brunson, Hart, McBride, Robinson
in McBride
out Bridges
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
BrMcPaRoTo 4 9 +3 2 6 33 1 3 33 3 3 100 1 4 5 1 1 0 1 1
NYK Bridges, McBride, Payne, Robinson, Towns
in Bridges, Payne, Towns
out Anunoby, Brunson, Hart
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
AnBrBrHaRo 3 5 0 2 5 40 0 0 0 1 2 50 1 2 3 0 0 0 1 2
NYK Anunoby, Bridges, Brunson, Hart, Robinson
in Anunoby, Brunson, Hart
out McBride, Payne, Towns
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
AnBrBrHaTo 2 5 0 2 3 67 1 1 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1
NYK Anunoby, Bridges, Brunson, Hart, Towns
in Towns
out Robinson
Lineup MIN PTS PM FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% OR DR REB AST STL BLK TO PF
AnBrMcPaTo 2 2 -4 1 5 20 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 2 0 0
NYK Anunoby, Bridges, McBride, Payne, Towns
in McBride, Payne
out Brunson, Hart
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
DETAT A. Thompson
CC C. Cunningham
DS D. Schröder
JD J. Duren
MB M. Beasley
PR P. Reed
RH R. Holland II
SC Schroder
TH T. Hardaway Jr.
TH T. Harris
NYKCP C. Payne
JB J. Brunson
JH J. Hart
KT K. Towns
MB M. Bridges
MM M. McBride
MR M. Robinson
OA O. Anunoby
DET/NYK the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur