Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns help Knicks crush Pistons

Jalen Brunson scored 36 points in the first three quarters and the New York Knicks continued their dominance over the host Detroit Pistons with a stunning 128-98 victory on Friday night.

The Knicks have won the last 16 meetings between the Eastern Conference clubs.

Brunson made 14 of 22 field goal attempts and added five assists. Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 44 points against Miami on Wednesday, had 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. OG Anunoby also had 21 points with six assists.

Mikal Bridges contributed 15 points and seven rebounds, while Josh Hart added 13 points, nine rebounds and four assists. New York had 16 steals as a team.

The Pistons earned their first win of the season, a road win at Philadelphia. Cade Cunningham led them with 22 points, six rebounds and six assists on Friday. Tobias Harris added 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

The Knicks took a 39-13 lead in the first game and scored the final 10 points of the quarter. Brunson single-handedly outscored the Pistons with 15 points and Anunoby scored 11. Detroit committed seven turnovers in the first 12 minutes and shot 6 of 21 from the field.

New York extended the lead to 33 points at the start of the second quarter. At the 8:08 mark, Bridges hit a 3-pointer for a 54-21 lead.

Detroit managed to cut the deficit to 69-46 by halftime when Malik Beasley knocked down a three-pointer in the final seconds. Brunson finished the half with 26 points while Towns had 16. Cunningham led the Pistons with 12 points.

The Pistons couldn't make much progress in the third period. A 3-pointer from Cunningham brought them within 22 points, 90-68, with 5:19 left. The Knicks responded with 3-pointers from Bridges and Anunoby, followed by a layup from Miles McBride after he stole the ball from Jaden Ivey.

At the end of the quarter, New York's lead was still a whopping 104-74. The Knicks increased their total to 38 by scoring the first eight points of the fourth quarter.

–Field level media