Karl-Anthony Towns Goes 27 and 20 as Knicks Get First Win Over Pistons

The New York Knicks beat the Detroit Pistons 111-97 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden for their first win of the season. The defending champions started 0-3, then looked like themselves again in a 37-13 third quarter that buried previously unbeaten Detroit.

Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with 27 points and 20 rebounds, and 13 of his points came during the decisive third-quarter run. He shot 12-for-21 from the field and added 3 assists, and 19 of his points with 11 of his rebounds came after halftime. Jalen Brunson backed him with 23 points and 7 assists, going 13-for-16 from the free throw line.

The turnaround started at halftime. Coach Mike Brown challenged Towns directly after Paul Reed outplayed him in the first half, and Towns answered with a second half that flipped the matchup. Reed finished with 22 points and 9 rebounds for Detroit but faded after the break, and he picked up a flagrant foul for elbowing Towns in the head while fighting for a rebound in the third quarter.

New York had to climb out of an early hole first. Detroit led by 13 points in the first quarter and took a 38-25 lead into the second, but Andre Drummond and Landry Shamet sparked a half-ending run that gave New York a 51-50 lead at the break. Shamet finished with 13 points, OG Anunoby scored 13 and Drummond added 10 points off the bench.

The win also snapped a six-game losing streak against Detroit. The Pistons won all three meetings last season by an average margin of 28 points, and they came into Tuesday night 3-0 while missing Jalen Duren with a right hamstring strain. Cade Cunningham flirted with a triple-double for Detroit with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, but the Pistons never recovered from the third quarter.

New York avoided an ugly piece of history with the win. A loss would have made the Knicks the first defending NBA champion to open 0-4 since the 1969-70 Boston Celtics. Instead they head to Chicago on Wednesday night at 1-3 with their season back on track.

Towns posting 27 points with 20 rebounds is a reminder to check his next matchup before you set a lineup, and you can follow every big-man line like it at The Sports Nus fantasy basketball page.