Reeling Knicks 'gotta respond' after drubbing by Pistons - ESPN

DETROIT — The New York Knicks came into Detroit looking forward to a showdown between the East's best teams but walked away after a beatdown searching for answers.

The East-leading Pistons handed the Knicks their fourth straight loss in a 121-90 drubbing Monday night at Little Caesars Arena in a rematch of their thrilling first-round series last spring.

On this night, Jalen Brunson was cryptic, while Karl-Anthony Towns reminded everyone he has to make the biggest adjustment of anyone with the new coaching staff in place.

«A lot needs to be addressed,» Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said.

Brunson declined to elaborate on precisely what he meant, but when asked if the members of the team had any discussions amongst themselves before the media was allowed in, he said, «Yeah, a little bit.»

He continued.

«We just gotta respond. A lot more needs to be said. We keep it internal,» he said. «If we want to be the team we say we want to be, we have to be better, simple as that.»

Brunson led the Knicks with 25 points but had zero assists and six turnovers — matched by Towns — as the Knicks had 20 overall. Towns, who played just 23 minutes and was a minus-27, said «like [coach] Mike [Brown] said, I'm the big sacrifice.»

«It's cool to be in a funk, [stuff] happens in the course of a season,» Towns said. «But this is a bad, bad time. You can't be this bad.»

The Knicks didn't lose four in a row last season, their longest losing streak stopping at three games. Their 23-13 record is one game off from where they were last season (24-12), and with the loss the Boston Celtics have passed them for second place in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks' team defense has faltered in the absence of swingman Josh Hart, as it has gone from a middle of