The Knicks finally got into the win column, and they did it by leaning into the parts of the game that travel: rebounding, free throws, and enough perimeter shooting to keep Detroit from hanging around. New York beat the Pistons 111-97 in a game that wasn’t pretty from the floor, but was controlled in the places that mattered most.
Karl-Anthony Towns was the headliner. He put up 27 points and 20 rebounds, going 12-21 from the field and grabbing eight offensive boards.
Even with seven turnovers attached to the night, his presence around the rim gave the Knicks a steady source of offense when their shooting went cold. New York finished with a 49-45 edge on the glass and a 19-11 advantage in offensive rebounds, and Towns was the driving force behind that margin.
Jalen Brunson chipped in 23 points and seven assists, though he had to grind for it. He shot 5-18 from the field and missed all five of his three-point attempts, but stayed productive by getting to the line and making 13 of 16 free throws.
Mikal Bridges also helped from the perimeter, finishing with 12 points and four assists while knocking down four of his eight threes. Those two, along with Towns, gave the Knicks enough balance to survive a rough shooting night.
The difference showed up beyond the arc and at the stripe. New York made 12 three-pointers on 36 attempts, while Detroit hit nine of 37.
The Knicks also went 23-28 on free throws, compared with the Pistons’ 14-24. That gap added up fast and helped New York pull away despite shooting just 43.2% from the field.
The bench gave the Knicks a real lift, too. Landry Shamet scored 13 points in 28 minutes and made 3 of 5 three-pointers, while Andre Drummond added 10 points and eight rebounds in just 14 minutes.
Miles McBride contributed five points, and Tyler Kolek finished with two points and three assists. Drummond’s work on the glass and Shamet’s shooting both mattered in a game where the starters needed help.
Detroit had its own bright spots, led by Paul Reed’s 22 points on 9-12 shooting and Cade Cunningham’s 19 points and eight assists. But the Pistons couldn’t match New York’s efficiency in the biggest shooting spots.
Duncan Robinson went 2 for 10 from deep, Cunningham hit 2 of 7 threes, and Detroit as a team finished 9-37 from three and 14-24 at the line. The Pistons also had 11 blocks and turned the ball over 14 times, four fewer than the Knicks, but those positives weren’t enough to overcome the missed chances.
In Other News...
Knicks May Have Pulled Off Another Quiet Draft-Night Win
The Knicks used the 30th pick on Sergio de Larrea, then quickly turned that selection into a different kind of asset by sending his rights to the Mavericks for two future second-round picks. It was the sort of maneuver that fits neatly with how New York has tried to work around its salary cap limitations, squeezing value wherever it can find it instead of simply standing pat on draft night.
De Larrea was already playing professionally in Spain, and soon after the draft he helped Valencia win the Liga ACB title, adding another layer to a player the Knicks never intended to keep. New York also knew Dallas had been linked to him and had the front office ties to make the deal work, which is why this looked less like a pass on a prospect and more like a calculated bet on information and timing. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Just Got Pulled Into A Wild Karl-Anthony Towns Trade Idea
The Knicks have been pulled into an early-season trade idea that already feels bigger than the standings around it. Miami opened with a 0-4 start after reshaping its roster in a blockbuster deal with Milwaukee for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis, and the rough beginning has only fueled chatter about how the new pieces fit with Bam Adebayo still anchoring the frontcourt.
What makes the speculation more interesting from New Yorks side is the path some are floating to get there: a swap centered on Adebayo and Tim Hardaway Jr. for Karl-Anthony Towns. Nothing has been confirmed by Miami, and the Heat could easily give the group more time to settle in, but the mere fact the Knicks are part of this kind of conversation says a lot about how quickly the league starts chasing the next big idea when a new roster stumbles out of the gate. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Already Have A Real Andre Drummond Debate On Their Hands
Andre Drummonds first few weeks as the Knicks backup center have already turned into a small but real rotation conversation. He opened the 2026-27 season with a double-double, then saw his minutes dip in the next games as Mike Brown adjusted the lineup, a familiar kind of early-season sorting-out process for a team still figuring out how it wants to use its depth. Even so, Brown has made clear Drummond remains in the backup mix, which matters for a bench frontcourt that needs a dependable presence when the starters sit.
Drummond gave the Knicks a reminder of why that role is worth monitoring in the win over Detroit, when he scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 14 minutes. It was a cleaner, more productive showing than some of his earlier outings, and it gave New York a useful glimpse of what he can offer when the minutes are there. The larger question now is whether that performance is the start of a steadier climb back into a bigger share of the center rotation. [Read more 🡒]