Detroit – These are not the NBA qualifiers unless the two teams bark on the officer, were put in place and suffer from adjustments.
The days of Little Caesars Arena being so cold and silent, so sterile and indescribed were replaced by a hot gym and desperate piston fans allowing Jalen Brunson to know exactly what they think of him.
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But no one could report on the cities of Karl-Anthony, which reappeared with authority after being apparently won by their own team.
New York Knicks came to Detroit and found the advantage of the field with a 118-116 Victory In match 3 of their first round series, the cities pave the way with 31 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
It was the most important game for the piston franchise in 17 years – a series of ties, an atmosphere of crazy eliminatory series – and the pistons took out each stop to welcome the eyes of the NBA in Detroit.
The legends of the franchise and the sports legends were recognized at each time dead, and Brunson became a public enemy n ° 1 due to the start and the flop in the recommendation of match 2.
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Perhaps things were too excited, too noisy for a young piston team entering high issues – they are probably what the Knicks were last year, in some respects. And perhaps the Knicks felt nervousness or excitement – or even a little satisfaction, then jumped on the match early and played the team at home from behind. These are not the most experienced group, but they have worlds compared to the de, Detroit novices.
Towns has played with aggressiveness that he had not shown so far in the series, perhaps defended knowing that Isaiah Stewart, The Pistons Boogeyman, was released for the second consecutive match with inflammation of the left knee. Critics of cities at this stage are well known – if he will show up every night, remains defensive and will benefit from his match. In match 2, he allowed himself to be slowed down by Tobias Harris, and the Knicks went strongly to Brunson in the fourth quarter. In match 3, the cities took advantage of Jalen Duren's slow rotary defenses to easily launch the triple.
“Yeah, I had the opportunity to do things on the offensive side,” said Towns. “Their defense was – we found a means of transition for making me a great appearance and I was able to take advantage of this and it started at night.”
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During one night, the Knicks also took the identity of what they were, what the pistons are. They were the most desperate team, which lets go of the balls, playing with a force that had not been seen very often this year.
Brunson obtained two lay-ups in transition to give the Knicks a decisive advantage at 112-105 with 59 seconds to play-after a Coute Cunningham Drive where he lost Og Anunoby but then lost the ball a few seconds later.
This is the type of parts that go in your favor when you are the attacker, the pieces that followed Detroit in New York a few days ago. THE NBA clutch player of the year Apparently blocked the noise to make it right enough in the section, marking 12 of its 30 points in the last period.
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In match 1, he went to the locker room to find his cape. On Thursday, he found the resolution.
“Do I think it's bravo? Uh, no,” said Brunson about the songs of piston fans. “But it's just another way to concentrate and stay composed and stay in sight. Just another obstacle and knowing that my teammates have my back, it's nothing.”
The speech on the fact that Cunningham is the best player in this series is real, and whatever the playmaker, his team appeared. Cunningham finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists on only 10 shots out of 25, twinned by Tim Hardaway Jr. Stronging seven triples to mark 24.
He can't just be Brunson, just as he can't just be Cunningham, to this stage. Brunson's style seems to have a ceiling, and the knicks may not go so far this time. The addition of cities brings an element of dynamism and skills, but they have lost something in the Grain department.
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Their record is similar to last year, but it seems that there is less hope with the way this team occurs every night. Even if they are worn near the pistons, the Celtics champions wait 2, so it would be to rediscover part of the dirty they displayed on Thursday.
“It's the basketball of the playoffs,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. “We have guys who had a lot of big games, and we were a good team on the road all year round. I think we understand what's going on to win, we had the disappointment of the loss in match 2, I thought that our desire to play was very good.”
They could not put the pistons, despite a 14-point lead in the first half and took an advance from 104-93 halfway to the fourth. This is where part of this additional energy rekindled a team that was difficult to keep in this atmosphere, but it is also where you realize that this series approaches the point where emotion is a finite resource.
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Sooner or later, execution and talent will probably take over. Knicks have high -level talent in cities and Brunson, and if they gain in the intangible department, this series could be finished in shape.
But neither of the two teams is good enough to hide from the other or consistent to have the other submitted.
The pistons sang that Brunson was close to a violation of the rear area with five seconds to play, and that looked dangerously close, but the manager of Zach Zarba said in the pool report that Brunson had been allowed to have his momentum carrying him in the rear area.
“You catch the ball, have possession and place it, for me, possession in the front area – the ball must be thrown into the rear area,” said Piston coach JB Bickerstaff. “If you catch it in the front area, the ball is not in the rear area. Again, maybe I'm wrong but we will see.”
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Cunningham published a similar statement, but no longer could deny the pistons playing behind the whole match. Harris did not record a bucket until 4:42 a.m. on the left in the fourth quarter. Malik Beasley, hundreds of triples this season, looks anemic since match 1 – 3 out of 18 the last two games in the range of 3 points.
This helped the Knicks to collapse defensively on Cunningham, who did not obtain as many open floor opportunities as at Madison Square Garden.
The intensity of the games continues to increase as you go. Perhaps on Sunday, a decisive winner will emerge, but for one night, the Knicks rediscovered what their basketball version in the playoffs should look like-and it has removed the air from a ready-made building.