Knicks 104, Pistons 102: Scenes from the return of Big Money AB

The New York Knicks went 3-0 on their road trip, sealing the deal with a 104-102 win in Detroit over the Pistons Sunday afternoon. But boy, it wasn’t easy. New York blew a 21-point lead and had to grind it out against a moribund Pistons squad. In the end, it was Alec Burks who salted the game away with a clutch steal on No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham.

Burks had two steals in the closing minutes, as well as a massive three-pointer to help propel the Knicks to the win.

You gotta credit Tom Thibodeau: He went back to Burks and Julius Randle late in the game over fan favorites Miles McBride and Obi Toppin, and it worked...particularly the Burks move. Randle did score five straight points, but he was abused by Marvin Bagley pretty much all afternoon. RJ Barrett (team-high 21 points) cut one clutch basket, but missed two more, and played some extremely suspect defense.

But the story of the game was Burks. who finished with 18 points. He’s a damn good player when he’s not contributor out of position at point guard. He can D up bigger, slower guards like Cunningham and Killian Hayes, so this game was made for him.

Recap to come.