Cade Cunningham scored 33 points and Dennis Schroder hit the decisive three as Detroit beat New York 100-94 on 21 April 2025.
The road win ended the longest playoff losing streak in NBA history at 15 games and levelled the first-round series at 1-1.
Detroit survives another Knicks comeback
The Pistons led by 15 in the third quarter and carried an eight-point advantage into the fourth. New York erased it with a 16-4 run, tying the game on Josh Hart’s dunk with 1:15 left.
Detroit had surrendered a similar lead in Game 1. This time, Schroder answered.
Schroder delivers in the final minute
Schroder pulled up from 25 feet and made the go-ahead three with 55.7 seconds remaining. The Knicks did not score again, while Schroder and Jalen Duren sealed the win at the line.
Schroder finished with 20 points off the bench. Cunningham went 10 for 12 on free throws and Detroit attempted 34 as a team, compared with New York’s 19.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau questioned that difference but Jalen Brunson said his team needed to adjust to the officiating.
Cunningham ends Detroit’s long wait
Brunson scored 37 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 10 and did not attempt a shot in the final period.
“It’s a great feeling,” Cunningham said. “It’s something that the city been waiting on for a long time.&
Detroit’s previous playoff win had come in 2008. One composed final minute at Madison Square Garden finally ended the wait.
