JALEN Brunson overcame a slow start to score 34 points as the New York Knicks dominated the fourth quarter in a 123-112 victory over the visiting Detroit Pistons in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
Game 2 will be Monday (Tuesday in Manila) in New York before the series shifts to Detroit on Thursday (Friday in Manila).
The Knicks overcame an eight-point deficit by outscoring the Pistons 33-14 over the final 9:16. New York seized control with a massive 21-0 run that spanned nearly 4 1/2 minutes and gave the Knicks a 111-98 lead. Brunson scored eight points in the burst—all in the paint—and gave the Knicks the lead for good when his difficult 2-footer over Tim Hardaway Jr. with 7:16 left snapped a 98-98 tie.
OG Anunoby added 19 of his 23 points in the first half and Karl Anthony-Towns contributed 13 of his 23 in the second half to go along with 11 rebounds and five assists overall. Reserve Cameron Payne added 14 points, including the tying 3-pointer in New York’s extended run.
Tobias Harris led the Pistons with 25 points, but Detroit dropped its 15th straight postseason game dating to Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference finals.
In other games, it was the Nuggets 112, Clippers 110 (OT); and Wolves 117, Lakers 95.
Nuggets 112, Clippers 110 (OT)
Aaron Gordon had six of his 25 points in overtime, Russell Westbrook came up with a big defensive play in the final seconds and host Denver rallied to beat Los Angeles in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.
Nikola Jokic finished with 29 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, Jamal Murray scored 21 points, Westbrook finished with 15 and Christian Braun had 11 for Denver, which hosts Game 2 on Monday night.
James Harden led Los Angeles with 32 points and had 11 assists, Ivica Zubac finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, Kawhi Leonard scored 22, Norman Powell contributed 12 and Kris Dunn finished with 11.
Wolves 117, Lakers 95
Jaden McDaniels collected 25 points with nine rebounds and Anthony Edwards added 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists as visiting Minnesota rolled to a victory over Los Angeles in the opener of a first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Naz Reid scored 23 points and Julius Randle had 16 as the No. 6 seed Timberwolves improved to 5-0 in first-round games over the past two seasons. Minnesota shot 51.2 percent from the floor and went 21 of 42 from 3-point range. Edwards departed to the locker room late in the third quarter with an apparent left leg injury before he returned. Reid was also injured late.
