How It Happened: The Knicks entertained the New York crowd with an exhilarating half at the home opener. The orange and blue built a 13-point advantage and led by as much as 21 points in the contest. However, Detroit rattled off a 13-4 run in the third frame to trim the lead to just two points. In the final stanza, a back-and-forth battle ensued before a Tobias Harris jumper in the lane provided Detroit with a three-point edge with just 45.3 seconds on the game clock. On the other side of the floor, Kristaps Porzingis’ attempt at the rim was blocked by Andre Drummond and the Pistons escaped with a 111-107 victory. Harris finished with 31 points, Drummond added 21 and 12 boards, and Reggie Jackson scored 16 for the visiting team.
Knick of the Night: Porzingis sparkled in his 2017-18 home debut. In similar fashion to Thursday’s contest in Oklahoma City, the big man scored early and often while registering a game-high 33 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the floor. Porzingis is the first Knick with consecutive 30-point games to start the season since 1993-94.
Notables: Enes Kanter posted 17 points and 10 boards, Kyle O’Quinn scored 15, and Tim Hardaway Jr. tallied 14 points.
News and Notes:Despite suffering from a sprained ankle in Oklahoma City, Michael Beasley suited up and played 17 minutes on Saturday night. Frank Ntilikina was not available against the Pistons due to a sprained left ankle that occurred at Friday’s practice session.
Statistically Speaking: Saturday night’s game featured 14 lead changes.
Next Up: The Knicks are off from game action until Tuesday night when the team travels to Boston for a showdown against the new-look Celtics.