The New York Knicks will have the opportunity to close out their playoff first-round series against the Detroit Pistons in Wednesday's clash at Madison Square Garden.
Down 3-1 after the opening four matches of the series, the Pistons have left themselves with a herculean task if they are to make it through to the conference semi-finals and must now rise to the occasion.
Match preview
© Imago
Heavily fancied to get the better of the Pistons, third-seed New York Knicks headed to Detroit with some work to do, having won one and lost one of the opening two matches on home turf to leave the tie firmly in the balance.
Tom Thibodeau's men claimed a hard-fought 118-116 triumph in Friday's Game Three to get their noses in front and headed into Sunday's fourth matchup aiming to move within one win of getting the job done.
The Knicks came out firing in the first half and led by as many as 16 points at some point, but their advantage was wiped out in the third quarter, and they headed into the final 12 minutes down by seven points before producing a stunning comeback to come out on top.
Picking up where they left off in Game Three, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were on song for the Knicks once again, tallying 32 and 27 points respectively, including all of their team's final 15 down the stretch.
Returning back to their home court for what could potentially be a series-clinching Game Five, Wednesday's hosts will be keen to complete the job done as soon as possible to avoid another trip to Detroit and give themselves some much-needed rest ahead of the conference semi-finals.
© Imago
Having done well to snatch one win in New York from the first two clashes, the Detroit Pistons looked to have tipped the scales slightly in their favour, but two consecutive nail-biting defeats have since left them on the brink of elimination.
A visibly irate JB Bickerstaff and his men were perhaps a tad unlucky on Sunday evening, as the officials missed what could have been a game-changing shooting foul by Josh Hart on Tim Hardaway Jr's final attempt.
With little time to dwell on two narrow but major setbacks, the Pistons have their work cut out as they look to recover from a 3-1 deficit which has only been overturned 13 times in NBA history, most recently in 2020.
However, the Pistons were responsible for one of those 13 comebacks just over two decades ago, back in 2003, when they ousted the Orlando Magic in the first round the year it got expanded to a best-of-seven series.
Out-rebounding their opponents for the fourth straight game last time out, Wednesday's visitors have established dominance on the glass, although that has not always translated to extra shot attempts, largely due to their incessant turnovers.
- W
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
- L
Team News
© Imago
Mitchell Robinson is the Knicks' only concern for this one due to an illness that limited him to just one minute of action in the second half and nine minutes overall last time out.
Floor general Brunson has moved up to 15 30-point displays in the playoffs for the home side, just three behind the great Patrick Ewing's franchise record of 18.
Shooting guard Jaden Ivey is still unavailable for the Detroit Pistons due to a lower leg problem but could be cleared to return to action within the next two weeks.
Twenty-three-year-old Isaiah Stewart sat out Sunday's Game Four due to a knee issue and remains a major doubt for the away side's trip to New York.
New York Knicks possible starting five:
Brunson, Hart; Bridges, Anunoby; Towns
Detroit Pistons possible starting five:
Cunningham, Thompson; Hardaway Jr, Harris; Duren
We say: Knicks to win by 4+ points
The Knicks have put themselves in pole position to progress into the next round and are set to be greeted by a roaring home support at the Garden here.
We are backing the home side to see off their visitors once again and draw the curtain on the series in its fifth chapter.
Adepoju Marvellous
