Knicks 108, Pistons 100: Scenes from the Julius and Taj show

It wasn’t the prettiest game — even for preseason — but the New York Knicks came back to defeat the Detroit Pistons, 108-100.

Give credit to Detroit, who was missing eight players, yet showed some fire and desire throughout. They held a four-point lead over the Knicks at the half, and the favored ‘Bockers looked particularly lackluster.

But Julius Randle went off late in the third quarter, scoring 16 of his game-high 29 points in the period. He was only 4-10 from the field in the first half, and looked frustrated by Jerami Grant, but when the game was on the line, Julius showed up big-time. He also displayed the three-point stroke that helped make him last season’s Most Improved Player, hitting four triples in the second half.

Julius displayed the passion that made him beloved in the Garden last season, demanding Tom Thibodeau take a coach’s challenge on an out-of-bounds call in the waning minutes.

But let’s not forget the play of the old man, Uncle Taj Gibson. The 36-year-old started once again with Nerlens Noel and Mitchell Robinson out, and he dropped a cool 21 points. Taj even nailed a late three!

Overall, not as fun as the first two preseason games, but they can’t all be blowouts. Recap to come.