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Brace yourself for Round 3 of the NBA Playoffs, where the New York Knicks find themselves heading to Little Caesars Arena to take on the Detroit Pistons in a series tied at 1-1. The game tips off at 7 PM ET sharp tonight, and plenty of action will hit the rim before one of the two teams takes a fresh series lead.
Feel free to analyze our picks for the big games below and decide whether they’re something you want to follow or forget!
The Detroit Pistons concluded their regular season with a 140-133 OT loss against the Bucks on April 13. Their first game of the playoffs took place in Madison Square Garden against the Knicks, which resulted in a 112-123 loss for the Pistons. They lost despite Cade Cunningham posting a double-double with 21 points and 12 assists, with two other players, Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley, scoring 25 and 20 points.
Game 2 on April 21 saw a crucial bounce-back for Detroit at Madison Square Garden, where the Pistons oversaw a 100-94 victory, with three different players recording double-doubles, including Tobias Harris with 15 points and 13 rebounds, Jalen Duren with 12 points and 13 rebounds and Cade Cunningham with 33 points and 12 rebounds. Dennis Schroder was also vital for the Pistons’ most recent win, posting 20 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds.
Pistons guard Cade Cunningham finished the regular season with 26.1 PPG, 9.1 APG, and 6.1 RPG and continues the trend into the postseason, averaging 27 PPG, 7.5 APG, and 9.0 RPG after just two games played, so we fully expect another big scoring output from him tonight.
Forward Tobias Harris isn’t to be counted out either, starting his first two games of the playoffs with 13.7 PPG, 2.2 APG, and 5.9 RPG, while guard Malik Beasley follows close behind with 16.3 PPG, 1.7 APG, and 2.6 RPG. With the Pistons at home tonight, it’s likely that Cunningham and company will dominate in scoring and rebounds as the Pistons look to take the lead in the series.
The New York Knicks finished their regular season on a high with a 113-105 win over their Brooklyn Nets rivals. They started strong against the Pistons in the first game of the series with a 123-112 victory, which saw guard Jalen Brunson score 34 points with 8 assists. Center Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a vital double-double with 23 points, 5 assists and 11 rebounds, while forward OG Anunoby put up 23 points with 7 rebounds for the win.
As I stated above, the Knicks would fall 94-100 to the Pistons at home in Game 2, with Brunson putting up another 37 points, 7 assists and 3 rebounds. This wasn’t enough, however, as only Mikal Bridges would put up 19 points with OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Karl-Anthony Towns putting up just 10 points apiece, resulting in a 1-1 tied series by the end of round 2.
The Knicks Jalen Brunson continues to be at the forefront of the team’s point scoring, finishing the regular season with 26 PPG, 7.3 APG, and 2.9 RPG but has started his playoff run averaging 35.5 PPG, 7.5 APG, and 2.5 RPG after just two games. Both Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby follow behind Brunson in playoff stats with 16.5 PPG each, although Towns has averaged 2.5 APG compared to Anunoby’s 1.0 and 8.5 RPG compared to Anunboy’s 6.0.
It will take some ramping up tonight to ensure a win, especially in opponent territory, but if Jalen Brunson can lead the way with another spectacular 30+ point game, it could be the Knicks who lead the series going into Game 4.
Detroit will come into the game with a positive attitude after stealing a narrow win away at Madison Square Garden, and if Cade Cunningham does the numbers he’s been doing all season (I expect another 29+ points from him), with at least one of his teammates recording a double-double, the Pistons could easily defeat the Knicks to take the 2-1 series lead.
However, Detroit will need to lock down Jalen Brunson, who not only had an incredible season but improved on his point-scoring numbers in the postseason with an expectation to net at least 29+ points tonight to help his team. If New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby don’t show up big tonight, the Pistons will take this one.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.