Brunson sinks game-winner, Knicks eliminate Pistons 116-113 in Game 6

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    Jalen Brunson hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds left

    Jalen Brunson hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds left and finished with 40 points to lead the New York Knicks past the Detroit Pistons 116-113 on Thursday night, clinching their first-round series 4-2 and advancing to face the Boston Celtics in Round 2.

    Brunson, recently named the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year, delivered again in the closing moments. His crossover step-back triple silenced a hostile crowd that had booed him all series.

    “I stay poised and I rely on the trust and composure my teammates give me,” Brunson said.

    Detroit had a chance to tie, but Malik Beasley fumbled the final inbound pass with 0.4 seconds left.

    “I’m mad about that,” said Beasley, who scored 20 points, including 16 in the second quarter and a buzzer beater to take a 61-59 lead going into halftime.

    The Knicks will now face the defending champion Celtics in a second-round matchup starting Monday in Boston.

    “They’re the defending champion, so we’re going to have to be at our best,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.

    Mikal Bridges added 25 points, and OG Anunoby scored 22 as New York held off a late Pistons rally, overcoming the loss of an 11-point fourth-quarter lead and a 15-point cushion in the first half.

    Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 23 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds but missed a key layup with 22 seconds remaining.

    In their first postseason since 2019, the sixth-seeded Pistons ended a league-record 15-game playoff losing streak this series but broke another with a 10th straight home playoff loss dating back to 2008.

    “We proved to ourselves and to the rest of the league that what we have in our room can be very successful,” Cunningham said.

    Despite relentless taunts throughout the series, Brunson stayed locked in.

    “His focus is terrific,” Thibodeau said. “He doesn’t get sidetracked with anything but the game.”

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