DETROIT — Karl-Anthony Towns was aggressive early and Jalen Brunson was effective late. Towns scored 11 of his 31 points in the first quarter and Brunson had 12 of his 30 in the fourth to help the New York Knicks hold on for a 118-116 win over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.

Brunson, who has taken 27 shots in each outing so far, leads the 2024-25 playoffs in scoring ( 35.5 PPG) and field goal attempts through two games. That’s impressive for a guy who made just four appearances for New York over the final month of the regular season because of an ankle sprain he sustained on March 6 against the Lakers.