Head Scratching Moves By Tibbs Cost NY
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Andrew Rosario
Big Second Half For Cunningham Forces Game 6
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
The New York Knicks knew when they hosted the Detroit Pistons in game 5 in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, Detroit would be coming into Madison Square Garden with a major chip on their collective shoulders. The Pistons felt they were robbed in game 4 on their home court after Tim Hardaway Jr appeared to be fouled by Knicks guard Josh Hart. If the foul was called, Hardaway would have attempted 3 free throws and more than likely the Pistons would come away with the tying the series at 2 games apiece. No call sent the Knicks home with commanding 3-1 series lead with a chance to close out the Wednesday night.
The Detroit Pistons established from the very beginning that they would not go away easily. They jumped out to a 9-2 lead after a Tobias Harris 3-pointer with 8:17 in the first quarter. The Knicks regrouped to take their first lead of the game 14-12 behind baskets from Josh Harris, Miles Mc Bride and OG Anunoby. The teams would go back and forth with no lead exceeding 4 points as the Knicks to a 23-22 to end the quarter.
That trend carried over to the second quarter as there were 6 ties with the Knicks taking a 1-point 50-49 lead going into the locker room. Then, like they have done in the previous 4 games, the third quarter proved to a problem for the Knicks. Pistons Cade Cunningham had only 4 first half points missing 6 of his 8 attempts. In scoring 7 third quarter points, Cunningham was instrumental in Detroit going up by as many as 10 points 71-61 with 4:29 left. New York would claw back out scoring Detroit 13-6 cutting the lead to 3 at 77-74. The Knicks looked to end the series going into the final quarter while the Pistons hoped to keep their season alive.
The sold-out frenzied home crowd did all they could to inspire their team. There were questionable fouls on both sides with the crowd at one point serenading the referee’s with “refs you s..k.” At one point, Detroit head coach JB Bickerstaff was hit with a technical foul which led to 3-free throws after Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns was fouled. Towns converted all 3-free throws tying the game at 79. The Knicks last lead came after Jalen Brunson free (88-87) and from that point on it was all Pistons.
With the score tied at 95, the Knicks miss would 4 of their next 8 shots while Detroit extended their lead to 6 at 101-95. The Knicks had one last shot After Anunoby drained a 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds getting them within 1 at 104-103. Cunningham converts 2-free throws (106-103) when Mc Bride gets fouled. He missed the first free throw and his second desperate attempt to clang the ball off the rim in hopes of getting the rebound for a 3-point shot was rebounded by Detroit as the time ran out. Detroit lived to see another game.
A very somber head coach Tom Thibodeau kept his answers short in his post-game press conference. With Brunson and Hart on the bench late in the game, Tibbs could have called a time out to get them back in the game. He didn’t and said, “just where we were with our time outs. Coaches’ decision.” What message did he have for the team when they go to play in Detroit Thursday night? “The challenge is to reset. Every game is different. Take a look at the film, see what we can do better and be ready to go.
If the New York Knicks lose game 6, game 7 will be played Saturday night at Madison Square Garden Saturday night. Anything can happen. Just look what happened to them last year when they lost game 7 at home against Indiana.
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