Cade Cunningham delivered one of the most complete performances of the season Thursday night, finishing with 42 points and 13 assists to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 126-111 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
The victory pushed Eastern Conference-leading Detroit to 40-13 and marked its third win over New York in as many meetings this season.
The Knicks opened with the first five points and built a 9-2 edge, but the Pistons answered with a 21-8 run and never trailed again.
Cunningham set the tone early with aggressive drives and timely kick-outs, helping his team shoot 52% from the field and 43% from 3-point range.
The All-Star guard went 17-of-34 overall and 5-of-11 from deep, while adding eight rebounds in 38 minutes.
Detroit closed the second quarter on a 7-0 spurt to take a 58-48 halftime lead, its first double-digit advantage of the night.
New York trimmed the margin to 62-60 on a Karl-Anthony Towns basket early in the third, but Duncan Robinson responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch the lead back to 13.
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The Pistons carried a 90-79 cushion into the fourth and continued to control tempo by spacing the floor and attacking mismatches.
Daniss Jenkins’ tip-in with 7:50 remaining pushed the lead to 104-85, the largest gap of the game.
The Knicks made one final push when Jalen Brunson hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 120-109 with 1:33 left, but they got no closer.
Brunson paced New York with 33 points and eight assists on 12-of-20 shooting, while Towns added 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Landry Shamet scored 15 off the bench, yet the home side struggled from long range, shooting 8-of-35 for 23%.
Detroit moved the ball consistently, finishing with 30 assists on 48 made field goals.
Paul Reed provided interior production with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and seven rebounds, and Tobias Harris recorded 11 points and 10 boards.
Ausar Thompson added 10 points and five rebounds as the visitors controlled the glass 44-38.
The Pistons played without Jalen Duren, their leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, and Isaiah Stewart, who averages 10 points, as both serve suspensions stemming from a February 9 altercation against Charlotte.
Despite those absences, Detroit’s depth held up, with 11 offensive rebounds and 17-of-20 shooting at the free-throw line.
New York fell to 35-20 and remains third in the East standings.
The Pistons continue their road trip Saturday at Chicago, while the Knicks host Houston.
