Knicks 'focus on little things' to earn first win of season - ESPN

NEW YORK — Knicks guard Jalen Brunson looked at the World Series baseball game from his locker and drew from that to describe his team's approach.

«Just continue to hit singles,» Brunson said following the Knicks' first win, a 111-97 win over the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden. «Just get on base and hit singles and focus on little things until we get our rhythm.»

It quelled the semipanic surrounding the defending NBA champions, if only for a moment. But for what the win lacked in style points, it made up for in trends that needed reversing.

It broke the recent dominance the Pistons had over the Knicks in the regular season, as the Pistons won all three meetings by an average of 30 points last season. The Knicks were also a porous second half team, being outscored in the first three games by 26 points.

They blitzed the Pistons in the middle two quarters, outscoring them 63-25. For that stretch, they looked like the New York Knicks of the playoffs. In delivering the conference-leading Pistons their first loss of the season, swingman Mikal Bridges woke up, hitting four 3s after not hitting any in the first three games.

«We had more good moments in this game in totality than we did in the first three games, and that's why we got the win,» Knicks head coach Mike Brown said. «Our awareness, our level of physicality on [Detroit's shooters] was a lot better than the previous game.»

Brunson didn't exactly break out, going 5-for-18 for 23 points. But he stayed aggressive and forcing the action, getting Pistons defensive ace Ausar Thompson to foul out in the fourth quarter as the Pistons were attempting a late charge.

It was Karl-Anthony Towns who again has played to his personal standard, and he was apparently challenged