Karl-Anthony Towns scored 13 of his game-high 27 points during a decisive third-quarter run as the host New York Knicks rallied past the Detroit Pistons 111-97 on Tuesday for their first win of the season.
New York trailed by 13 points in the first quarter.
The Knicks outscored the Pistons 37-13 in the third and held off a fourth-quarter rally to avoid becoming the first defending NBA champion to open 0-4 since the Boston Celtics in 1969-70.
Towns also pulled down a season-high 20 rebounds.
Jalen Brunson produced 23 points and seven assists for New York while OG Anunoby and reserve Landry Shamet scored 13 points apiece. Mikal Bridges finished with 12 points, and Andre Drummond added 10 points off the bench.
The result snapped the Knicks’ six-game losing streak against the Pistons, who won all three games between the teams last season by an average margin of 28 points.
Paul Reed had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Pistons, who were seeking their first 4-0 start since the 2018-19 season. Cade Cunningham (19 points, nine rebounds, eight assists) flirted with a triple-double while Duncan Robinson recorded 12 points.
Detroit’s Ausar Thompson and reserve Daniss Jenkins each had 11 points.
The Pistons ended the first quarter on a 15-5 run and took a 38-25 lead on Reed’s 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left.
Drummond and Shamet sparked the Knicks’ comeback bid in the second. They scored the first 11 points in a half-ending 19-8 run. Brunson sank two free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining to give New York the lead for good at 51-50.
The Knicks remained hot to open the third quarter, when they scored the first 11 points to take a double-digit lead. Shamet’s 3-pointer with 2:59 left in the period gave New York its first 20-plus-point lead at 82-61.
The Knicks were up 88-63 when Josh Hart ended the third with a 3-pointer, and they extended the gap to 27 when Towns began the fourth with a layup. The Pistons outscored New York 34-21 the rest of the way and got as close as 104-93 on Ronald Holland II’s putback dunk with 2:39 remaining.
