The Knicks’ roller coaster stretch took another plunge Monday – this time courtesy of Cade Cunningham.
The former No. 1 overall pick scored 18 points in the third quarter and another 11 in the fourth of the Detroit Pistons’ 124-119 win at Madison Square Garden, dealing the Knicks their fifth loss in the last seven games.
And for the second day in a row, one of the Knicks’ marquee stars picked up an injury.
Karl-Anthony Towns slammed his right hand into the backboard on a first-quarter dunk attempt, and while he remained in the game, he continued to hold his thumb and wore a pair of different wraps throughout the night.
It was an overall rough night for a Knicks team that failed to build on Sunday afternoon’s 140-106 win over the Milwaukee Bucks at the Garden, further demonstrating the high degree of variance that’s defined them this month.
They led, 63-59, at halftime but were once again outplayed in the second half.
The Pistons outscored the Knicks, 36-27, in the third quarter and made the necessary plays in the fourth, which they punctuated with Malik Beasley’s dagger 3-pointer in the waning seconds.
Indeed, the upstart Pistons proved a difficult matchup on the second night of a back-to-back.
With the Knicks trailing 116-114, Brunson’s pass glanced off Towns’ left hand with 1:48 remaining for a costly turnover. Cunningham would draw a foul on Towns on the next possession and convert both free throws.
Cunningham finished with a game-high 36 points.
Towns, meanwhile, missed two 3-pointers wide in the fourth quarter and drew an offensive foul with a minute remaining.
Monday’s game was reminiscent of the Knicks’ Jan. 3 loss in Oklahoma City, when the Thunder outscored them, 37-19, in the fourth quarter, and of a Jan. 4 loss in Chicago, when the Bulls outscored them, 38-17 in the third quarter.
It’s an alarming trend for a team that relies on its starters for more minutes than any other NBA team.Brunson, who suffered a shoulder injury Sunday but returned to that game, led the Knicks with 31 points in Monday’s loss. Towns finished with 26 and Mikal Bridges added 27.
The Pistons, meanwhile, improved to 2-0 at the Garden this season and 21-19 overall. They have won 10 of their last 12 games, further solidifying them as one of the NBA’s best stories after going 14-68 — and losing a single-season-record 28 games in a row — last year.
The Knicks will look to get back on track Wednesday in Philadelphia against the 76ers.
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