No one can accuse the Knicks of not taking advantage of the soft spots in their schedule so far this season, even if this one was anything but easy.
Tom Thibodeau’s team allowed the NBA-worst Pistons to hang around deep into the fourth quarter before ultimately pulling away and extending its season-long success against losing teams.
Jalen Brunson pumped in a game-high 42 points to help the Knicks survive and send the Pistons to their 16th consecutive defeat, 118-112, Thursday night at the Garden.
Brunson, who fell three points shy of his season high (45), buried 7 of 12 attempts from 3-point range
Julius Randle chipped in 29 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists as the Knicks (11-7) improved to 9-0 this season against teams that began play Thursday with a record below the .500 mark.
“You guys talk about that all the time and I think, one, you can’t get here without being a great player,” Thibodeau said before the game. “So everyone on their roster is an NBA player. That means they’re all great players. So there’s ups and downs in a season, and everyone’s capable of beating you.
“You have to be ready to play each and every night. And you have to put the necessary work into getting ready to play. That’s maybe the most important thing. To be mentally ready and then physically ready. But it starts with your mind.”
Despite what is now a 2-17 overall record this season for the Pistons, Thibodeau had warned that Monty Williams’ squad is a “young and explosive” team, featuring Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft, and impressive young big men Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson.
Cunningham finished with a team-high 31, Killian Hayes scored 23 and Marcus Sasser added 17 off the bench for Detroit.
RJ Barrett added 15 points and Donte DiVincenzo played the entire fourth quarter and finished with 12 for the Knicks, who will play the tail end of back-to-back games Friday night in Toronto against the Raptors (9-10).
Brunson took just nine shots and netted 12 points against Charlotte, but the $104 million point guard dished out a team-best seven assists.
He exceeded that scoring output with 15 points — including a trio of 3-pointers — in Thursday’s first quarter, as the Knicks grabbed a 31-17 advantage through 12 minutes.
“To Jalen, winning is the most important thing. He’s always going to read the game,” Thibodeau said. “Sometimes I think in transition you have to be a little more aggressive when you know they’re trying to double team, but I just thought he read the game really well.”
Randle had posted a terrific game two nights earlier with 25 points and a season-best 20 rebounds, and he added nine points in the opening quarter against the Pistons, including six in a 13-2 closeout run.
Still, the Pistons used a 15-4 surge against the Knicks’ second unit to open the second quarter to close within three.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Brunson and DiVincenzo — and a converted four-point play midway through the session by Brunson — helped the Knicks push the cushion back to 13.
But five treys combined from Cunningham (18 first-half points) and Sasser (12) triggered a 20-7 run to end the quarter, pulling the pesky Pistons even, 54-54, at intermission.
Brunson nailed 5 of 7 attempts from beyond the arc and finished the half with 23 points, while Randle contributed 14 through two quarters.
Brunson continued his scorching outside shooting with two more 3-pointers early in the third, but Hayes dropped in a short jumper for a 69-69 game at the six-minute mark.
Detroit finally nudged ahead on Sasser’s fifth 3-pointer of the game, and a late dunk by Marvin Bagley III put the Knicks down by two, 87-85, entering the final period.
DiVincenzo’s left-side triple and a slashing drive to the basket by Josh Hart helped the Knicks reclaim a 97-93 lead with 8:31 remaining.
Mitchell Robinson, shooting a paltry 35.3 percent this season from the free-throw line, also sank two from the stripe to further invigorate the home crowd.
DiVincenzo coolly sank two more 3s to extend the lead to 109-103 with 4:31 to go before Randle netted four straight points in the final two minutes for the Knicks.