Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks reacts during the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons in Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena on April 24, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. Gregory Shamus, Getty Images/AFP
LOS ANGELES - Jalen Brunson scored 32 points and Karl-Anthony Towns delivered two crucial late baskets as the New York Knicks held off the Detroit Pistons 94-93 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in their NBA Eastern Conference playoff series on Sunday.
The game ended amid controversy, the Pistons protesting that Tim Hardaway Jr. was fouled by Josh Hart on a last-gasp three-point attempt to win it.
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff was fuming along with Pistons fans but had no challenge remaining and the Knicks will have a chance to close out the best-of-seven first-round series at home on Tuesday.
"There's contact on Tim Hardaway's jump shot," Bickerstaff said after the game. "I don't know any other way around it, there's contact on his jump shot ... I repeat, there's contact on his jump shot."
The Pistons, fueled by a 25-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double from Cade Cunningham, erased an early 16-point deficit and led by 11 early in the fourth quarter.
Brunson, who departed briefly after tweaking his right ankle late in the third quarter, returned to score 15 points in the final period as the Knicks clawed back.
Towns, who finished with 27 points, pulled them within two points with a fiercely contested basket then drilled a three-pointer that put New York up 94-93 with 47 seconds left.
The Pistons had two chances to win it, Cunningham missing before Hardaway came up empty.
"We stuck together, we found a way to win," said Brunson, who added five rebounds and 11 assists.
In the day's other Western Conference clash, the Minnesota Timberwolves went into their home game against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers with a 2-1 series lead.
In the Eastern Conference, the defending champion Boston Celtics took a 2-1 series lead into their game against the Magic in Orlando and the Milwaukee Bucks hosted Indiana vying to pull level in a series led 2-1 by the Pacers.
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