With dozens of big-name players from different generations of the Knicks’ past seated courtside at the Garden, the Knicks were forced to play Saturday night without one of their current stars.
With imported center Karl-Anthony Towns sidelined for the second time this season, the Knicks failed to maintain their recent crispness at both ends of the floor before a late rally from a 17-point hole fell short in a 120-111 home loss to the Pistons to halt their four-game winning streak.
“When you’re shorthanded, your margin of error is a lot tighter. You gotta play with great intensity on every possession,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You’re not gonna replace KAT individually, and Cam [Payne] but collectively we can. That’s where we have to be better.”
The Knicks were outrebounded 43-31 without Towns, who was a late scratch with an issue with his right knee.
They also had no answer defensively for former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham, who posted a triple-double with 29 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds.
The Pistons (10-15) shot 50.0 percent from 3-point range (18-for-36), with Malik Beasley nailing seven treys and finishing with 23 points.
“Not good. I think we pick and choose when [to play defense],” Mikal Bridges said. “And we ain’t that good that we can just pick and choose when to play defense.”
About 40 former Knicks — including Naismith Hall of Famers Clyde Frazier, Earl Monroe, Bill Bradley, Jerry Lucas, Bob McAdoo, Bernard King, Spencer Haywood and Patrick Ewing, plus the families of Dean Meminger and Anthony Mason — were in attendance and introduced during a “homecoming” celebration at halftime.
“I was disappointed we couldn’t win for them tonight,” Thibodeau added.
Jalen Brunson remained in the lineup after suffering a back contusion Thursday night against the Hornets and finished with 31 points and 10 assists.
Bridges scored 20 points, OG Anunoby had 17 with four steals and Josh Hart also scored 17 before receiving his second technical foul and an ejection in the closing minutes for the Knicks, who finished 11-for-33 from 3-point range.
Jericho Sims started at center in place of Towns, but he played only six first-half minutes, with Thibodeau turning to Precious Achiuwa to start the third quarter, while also including rookie Ariel Hukporti in the rotation.
The Knicks committed six of their 15 turnovers and fell behind by as many as 16 in the first quarter, despite nine points from Brunson.
They still trailed 39-23 through one with Beasley leading the way with 12 points in six minutes off the bench for Detroit.
loss to the Pistons. Robert Sabo for New York Post
Brunson’s four-point play — with Larry Johnson also in the crowd — shaved the deficit to six midway through the quarter, and Hart’s long-range bucket made it 52-48 less than two minutes later.
But Cunningham, who finished with 21 in the half, sparked a 10-0 spurt to help push the Pistons’ advantage to 69-58 by intermission. Brunson had a team-high 20 for the Knicks through two quarters.
The combination of Achiuwa and Anunoby sparked the Knicks at both ends to start the third, with each forcing multiple turnovers and registering a dunk apiece in the opening minutes of the half.
Bridges also blocked Ivey’s 3-point try before flushing a breakaway dunk at the other end to cut the deficit to eight. He also knocked down a midrange jumper before Hukporti slammed home a lob from Brunson to pull within 89-85 entering the final period.
Another Brunson-to-Hukporti alley-oop pulled the Knicks within two in the opening minute of the fourth, but the Pistons used a 14-2 run — culminated by another Beasley 3-pointer — to reopen a 14-point cushion.
The Knicks still trailed 113-97 with 4:15 to go, but consecutive 3-pointers by Bridges and Anunoby and a Brunson’s runner pulled them within seven with 1:22 left.
But that’s as close as the Knicks came as their six-game home winning streak also came to an end.
“The game starts at 7:30. We gotta be ready at 7:30,” Brunson said. “We started slow and they dictated the pace and the physicality and they played well with the lead the whole game.
“When we dig ourselves a hole like that and we’re playing from behind, it’s not easy.”