Pistons are back in the playoffs and take NBA-record postseason losing streak into Game 1 vs Knicks
Pistons are back in the playoffs and take NBA-record postseason losing streak into Game 1 vs Knicks
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) goes to the basket against Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley jokes with a teammate during the fourth quarter of a win over the New York Knicks in an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, left, drives to the basket against New York Knicks forward Precious Achiuwa (5) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) collides with Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham while going to the basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges, left, drives the lane past Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges, left, drives the lane past Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) goes to the basket against Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley jokes with a teammate during the fourth quarter of a win over the New York Knicks in an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, left, drives to the basket against New York Knicks forward Precious Achiuwa (5) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) collides with Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham while going to the basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges, left, drives the lane past Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
NEW YORK (AP) — New York beating Detroit had become something of an NBA certainty, with the Knicks doing it 16 straight times over a span of five years.
The Pistons finally ended that streak with three wins over the Knicks during their massive 2024-25 turnaround season. Now they want to stop another lengthy stretch of futility: the longest postseason skid in NBA history.
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Back in the playoffs for the first time since 2019, the No. 6-seeded Pistons bring their 14-game postseason losing streak to Madison Square Garden on Saturday to face the third-seeded Knicks in Game 1 of their first-round series.
The Knicks know as well as anyone that the Pistons are nothing like the pushovers who went 14-68 last season and set another NBA single-season record by losing 28 straight games at one point. New York hadn't lost to Detroit since Nov. 6, 2019, before the Pistons took the final three meetings this season.
'They've had a fantastic season. We just played them recently so I think we have a feel for what their strengths are, but we have to dig a lot deeper into them to know them really well,' Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
'We have a respect for them, but we understand it's going to take 48 minutes of good basketball to win.'
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The Pistons have an All-Star in point guard Cade Cunningham, a potent outsider shooter in Malik Beasley and a number of other strengths. They don't have postseason experience together, an advantage for a Knicks team that has reached the Eastern Conference semifinals the last two years.
'It's a completely different basketball game. Until you're in it, it's hard to understand it," Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. 'We've been through this before. I say this to our coaches, at some point in time, we were all kids and didn't listen to our parents, and we didn't figure it out until we experienced it on our own. That's what the playoffs are like. We can tell guys what to expect, but until they experience it themselves, you don't understand just how different it is.'
Hiring Bickerstaff was one of the changes the Pistons made after last season, along with bringing in veteran players such as Beasley, Tobias Harris and former Knicks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. The result was a 44-38 mark this season, a 30-win improvement that was sixth-best in NBA history.
'I think they've done a hell of a job in bringing in vets and bringing that team with young guys and a lot of older guys to help them learn how to win,' Knicks guard Mikal Bridges said. 'I think they've done a really good job.'
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The postseason losing streak
Detroit's last victory in the playoffs was against Boston in Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference finals. The Celtics won the last two games of that series before the Pistons were swept in 2009, 2016 and 2019.
The 14 straight losses broke the record held by the Knicks, who dropped 13 straight postseason games from 2001 to 2012.
Rare rivals
The teams have such little postseason history that the Knicks have never defeated the Pistons in a seven-game series. Both their victories, in 1984 and 1992, were first-round series that were best-of-five, a format that no longer exists. Detroit won 4-1 in the 1990 East semis, the only other meeting.
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Brunson still burning?
Jalen Brunson will try to pick up where he left off in the 2024 postseason, when he averaged 32.4 points. The All-Star point guard became the first player since Michael Jordan to have four straight 40-point games in the playoffs.
Easy for Beasley
Beasley's 319 3-pointers were one behind Anthony Edwards for most in the NBA this season, and the eighth-most all-time. He barely missed this season at Madison Square Garden, going 13 for 18 behind the arc in the Pistons' two victories.
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AP Sports Writer Larry Lage in Detroit contributed to this report.
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Follow Larry Lage at https://apnews.com/author/larry-lage
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