Cade Cunningham sounds like a big revenge win against the Knicks

The Detroit Pistons answered the call for the long-awaited rematch against the New York Knicks. After failure last season’s first round playoff matchThe Pistons got a dose of revenge with a 121-90 victory.

This was also the first match in the regular part of the season between the top two seeds of the Eastern Conference. Detroit’s Monday night win keeps them as the No. 1 seed at 27-9. New York remains in 2nd place with a score of 23-13. Paystons All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham he wasn’t shy about the team’s desire to beat the Knicks at Little Caesars Arena.

“It’s a new season, so we’re trying to put all that stuff behind us. Obviously, we knew there was a little bit more to this game – we want to beat them, that’s not hiding in the room,” Cunningham expressed at the end of the game. “But we’re just trying to continue what we’ve been doing all year and keep the momentum going. We had a great win last night in Cleveland while losing a lot of our guys, and we just want to keep that momentum going.”

Detroit is currently on a two-game winning streak against two Eastern Conference playoff contenders. The home run also marked the Pistons’ longest margin of victory this regular season at 31.

After a tight start to the first quarter, the Pistons turned up their energy and offensive execution to build a ten-point halftime lead. Detroit went on to hold the Knicks to just 15 points in the quarter and never looked back in the second half. New York was outscored in the second half by a staggering 57-36 margin. Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff talked about what a win of this magnitude means to his team during the postgame presser.

“Again, it’s one of 82, and that’s our mindset. We’re focused on playing our best basketball every night. We don’t change because of our opponents or what the moment is. We want to be good. We want to be great. To do that, we have to be consistent,” Bickerstaff explained. “So if you play an emotional game and an emotional rollercoaster, you can’t find consistency. I think that’s where our guys found consistency in their system and their identity, and that gives you an opportunity to execute at a high level. You get results like this.”

The Pistons beat the Knicks because of injuries

The Pistons entered the contest without center Jalen Duren, forward Tobias Harris and wing Caris LeVert off the bench for the second straight game. Detroit relied on who was available and still managed to hit on all cylinders.

Cunningham led all scorers with 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field. He also knocked down three of his four 3-point attempts against the Knicks. His elite-level playmaking was also on display with 13 assists, recording his 20th double-double of the season.

Detroit had another standout performance from their bench as they scored 58 points as a unit. Forward JaVonte Green led the second group with 17 points, including four important 3-pointers. Guard Jaden Ivey had one of his most impressive nights of the season, scoring 16 points in 22 minutes. Reserve point guard Dennis Jenkins continued his excellent play with 12 points and four assists for the Pistons.