Image Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Pistons Squeeze Past Knicks to Snap 15-Game Playoff Losing Skid, End 17-year Drought of Postseason Win

Dennis Schroder's tiebreaking 3-pointer in the final seconds assured the Pistons their first playoff victory in 17 years.

Image Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Detroit Pistons halted their 15-game postseason losing streak by defeating the New York Knicks 100-94 on Monday night in Game 2 of the first-round playoff series. With this win, their playoff series is tied 1-1 before heading to Detroit for Game 3. Cade Cunningham was top performer for the Pistons with 33 points and 12 rebounds.

Dennis Schroder’s tiebreaking 3-pointer in the final seconds assured the Pistons their first playoff victory since the 2008 Eastern Conference finals against the Celtics, which was 6,174 days ago. Detroit also made it into the playoffs in 2009, 2016 and 2019 but failed to win a single game. After making it to the playoffs in six years, they dropped the first game against the Knicks last week.

Been a long time coming, but we're back pic.twitter.com/jtNIiyFroI
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) April 22, 2025

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Pistons Hold Nerves in Final Quarter to Earn Their First Playoff Victory in 17 Years

The Detroit Pistons, who lost the opening game 112-123, took an early seven-point lead in the first quarter. However, the Pistons had an eight-point lead after three quarters in Game 1, but the Knicks pulled off a comeback through a 21-0 run in the final period. The Knicks were going towards a similar story on Monday when they erased a 15-point deficit in the final quarter.

The Pistons had their largest lead at 68-53 with 5:02 remaining in the third. In the final quarter, the Knicks sparked a 16-4 run to tie the game at 94 on Josh Hart’s dunk. Schroder dropped a decisive 3-pointer with 55 seconds left in the game. Detroit sealed the game with six straight points, and tied the series 1-1.

MASSIVE GO-AHEAD TRIPLE FOR THE PISTONS 🎯

Dennis Schröder with the CLUTCH bucket to give Detroit the lead in the final seconds!

DET-NYK Game 2 on TNT. pic.twitter.com/1h1t8kKYkD
— NBA (@NBA) April 22, 2025

Schroder finished with 20 points off the bench. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 37 points.. Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby managed 10 points each. Cunningham, who shot 8-for-21 in Game 1, delivered a strong performance in his team’s historic victory.

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“We got bigger things we’re out here for,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “So our focus, and that’s why our guys have been able to grow and be consistent, because they just think about the now and I thought they did a great job tonight of staying in the moment and doing what we needed to do.”

Image Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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Gulshan Sharma

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A native of Jaipur, Rajasthan, journalist, and a complete soccer and basketball fan, he found the huge interest with basketball by watching videos of Allen Iverson and Tony Parker, but fell head over heels in love with the sport during the Warriors’ championship era (2015-2018). A sports game addict since his late PS1, he’s also passionate about the Eagles, Inter Miami and the Fever. He’s fortunate to have seen all his favorite teams win championships. He also has a special love for cricket and football (soccer), where he is a fan of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barcelona.