Brunson’s grit and Towns’ clutch shots lift Knicks to wild 94-93 Game 4 win in Detroit

It wasn’t pretty, and it definitely wasn’t easy, but the Knicks clawed their way to a 94-93 win over the Pistons in Game 4, taking a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

It was survival mode from start to finish, capped off by an insane ending that left the Pistons and their fans fuming after the refs swallowed their whistles on a potential game-winning three-point attempt from Tim Hardaway Jr., who drew contact from Josh Hart in the corner—but no call.

“Did I make contact with him? Yeah. I made contact with him. Was it legal? I don’t know.”

– Josh Hart

This game had drama written all over it, and Karl-Anthony Towns & Jalen Brunson wrote the final chapters. Towns hit two monster shots down the stretch, including a deep three with 47 seconds left to give the Knicks their first lead since late in the third quarter, and an earlier clutch two-pointer to trim a four-point deficit.

But the heart of the story was Brunson, who pulled his best Willis Reed impression. With three minutes left in the third, Brunson re-injured his already banged-up ankle and limped to the locker room, looking like his night—and maybe the Knicks’ chances—were over. Detroit, sensing opportunity, pushed their lead to 79-68 early in the fourth.

And then, like a movie script, Brunson returned two minutes into the final quarter, and he was unstoppable. He poured in 15 fourth-quarter points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field, including a cold-blooded three to tie the game at 84 and spark a furious 26-14 closing run. The Pistons had no answer for his relentless drives or his relentless will.

Towns, who had to tread carefully after picking up his fourth foul in the third, unleashed himself late and scored 8 crucial points in the fourth as well. Mikal Bridges also deserves a nod, doing an excellent job defensively to cool off Cade Cunningham, who went just 2-of-7 in the fourth after a strong start.

The Knicks had made their statement early, controlling most of the first half and building a 48-32 lead with under two minutes left before halftime. It could’ve been an 18-point cushion if not for a missed easy layup from Brunson.

Instead, the Pistons sensed life, closing the half on an 11-2 run and then starting the second half on a 12-2 burst to reclaim the lead, 55-52—their first since the opening minutes.

Cunningham led Detroit with 25 points, Tobias Harris added 18 (but none in the fourth), Hardaway Jr. chipped in 14, and Dennis Schroder provided 13 off the bench. But the Pistons’ issues from deep (just 7-of-29 on threes) and their 19 turnovers—six of them in the first quarter alone—were too much to overcome.

The Knicks, meanwhile, buried 15 threes at a 45.5% clip, with Towns and Brunson combining for nine of them. Though Detroit controlled the boards (54-38) and the paint (48-32), New York made their money on the perimeter and by forcing timely mistakes.

Game 5 heads back to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night at 7:30 ET, and with a chance to close out the series at home, the Knicks will look to finish what they started—but if Game 4 taught anything, it’s that nothing will come easy in this series.