DETROIT – James Dolan declared Monday that the Knicks “absolutely” need to reach the NBA Finals.
Then his team absolutely stunk.
On the same day that Dolan set the bar higher than any previous finish under his ownership, the Knicks were destroyed by the Eastern Conference leaders and destroyed 121-90 by the Pistons, prompting a postgame discussion between players, according to Jalen Brunson.
“If we want to be the team we say we want to be, we have to be better,” Brunson said. “It’s that simple.”
Monday night’s embarrassment was a collective effort. But two prominent starters in particular led to disappearing acts.
Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby combined for just 11 points on 2-for-7 shooting, without being particularly aggressive or involved.
In fact, Towns, who scored six points, played just 22 minutes and it wasn’t because of foul trouble. Continuing a rollercoaster season for Towns, production has dropped compared to last season.
“We have to go to the drawing board,” Towns said. “We’ve got to figure it out. Offensively, defensively, we’ve got to figure it out. It just hasn’t been good basketball from us lately.”
All Knicks were defeated by Pistons star Cade Cunningham, who finished with 29 points and 13 assists in 29 minutes. Cunningham steered the Knicks (23-13) to their worst fourth consecutive loss of the season, a stretch defined by the Swiss cheese defense.
Their porosity persisted at Little Caesars Arena, but there were plenty of issues on both sides of the ball.
Through three quarters – and with the Knicks trailing by 20 heading into the final period – Jalen Brunson was the only Knick with more than 10 points. They were stagnant, slow and overwhelmed by Detroit’s physicality and athleticism, while totaling a paltry 15 assists with 20 turnovers. The Pistons’ lead jumped to 33 points in the fourth quarter, just a few hours after Dolan told WFAN that the Knicks “needed to win the Finals” and “we absolutely had to get to the Finals.”
The owner also said he doesn’t expect a big move before the trade deadline next month, whether it’s for Giannis Antetokounmpo or someone else.
A few more performances like Monday should change minds.
“It’s pretty simple. They just physically beat us up,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “There are no ifs, ands or buts.”
It was the Knicks’ first game this season against the upstart Pistons (27-9), who have risen to the top of the East early after an MVP-like start from Cunningham.
The Knicks dropped from second to third place and are four games behind the Pistons. It felt like a litmus test, except there were a few disclaimers: The Pistons were short-handed without two injured starters (Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris) and were also playing in the second game of a back-to-back after flying in from Cleveland following a Sunday afternoon game at Rocket Arena. The Knicks, meanwhile, are in a slump and are clearly missing the presence of Josh Hart, who played his sixth straight game.
“Man, did we play defense tonight?” Miles McBride asked rhetorically. “St. I mean, we just have to come together and figure out a way to get arrests.”
All things considered, the Knicks are clearly behind the Pistons. They lose in the standings, they lose in head-to-head games, they lose in defense and on Monday it didn’t look like they could live up to the owner’s expectations.
“[The Pistons] were ready to go tonight. They wanted to play,” said Brunson (25 points, no assists), who made some shots Monday but was a big part of the sparse ball movement. “They really wanted to win and we didn’t.”
And it certainly didn’t look like the Knicks could live up to Dolan’s expectations.
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