New York Knicks Over Detroit Pistons in 6…Mostly Very Close Games

The New York Knicks eliminated the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, April 29 in an extremely hard-fought first-round NBA playoffs series.

A thrilling Game 6 ended with a winning three-pointer from Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson. Who scored 40 points and had seven assists in Thursday’s closeout game in Detroit overall.

Throughout the series, Brunson had faced critical chants from Detroit fans who believed that the Knicks point guard had been hunting fouls as opposed to playing “ethical” hoops. And so, the closing three-pointer had an added buzz for him and the Knicks as it sent Pistons fans home disappointed.

The three-pointer itself came with less then 10 seconds left on the clock as Brunson crossed up Pistons small forward/shooting guard Ausar Thompson. Brunson, an NBA All-Star, was named the league’s Clutch Player of the Year earlier in April.

But “hard-fought” is really an understatement when it comes to this series. Because as Sports Illustrated contributor Blake Silverman notes, the last four games of the series were won, in a something of a historical anomaly, by only nine points—combined.

In Game 6, the Knicks won by three points after the Pistons extended the series Tuesday with a three-point win of their own. Previously, New York had won Games 3 and 4 in Detroit. First by two points, and then by one.

According to ESPN, the Knicks-Pistons series was only the second of all time in postseason NBA history to feature four straight games decided by three or fewer points. And the first in 40 years.

The only other series to meet that criteria was the 1981 Eastern Conference finals between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics. Boston won that series in seven games after overcoming a 3-1 deficit.