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Pistons cool off Jalen Brunson, snap Knicks' winning streak 
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) dribbles defended by New York Knicks forward Mohamed Diawara (51) in the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Pistons cool off Jalen Brunson, snap Knicks' winning streak 

When the New York Knicks arrived in Detroit, they were red-hot and looking to prove themselves even more. However, they ended up leaving Little Caesars Arena humbled and cooled off by the Pistons

To further solidify their spot as the top team in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons dominated New York to the tune of 118-80. And even going beyond just increasing their lead as the current No. 1 seed, Detroit put together one of its best overall performances of the season. 

Based on the points allowed, it was the Pistons' second-best defensive outing as well. The only team to score fewer points against Detroit this season was when the lowly Brooklyn Nets posted 77 just a few days prior on Feb. 1. 

Jalen Brunson followed one of his best games with one of his worst 

The Pistons held Jalen Brunson to just 12 points in 31 minutes. Brunson only connected on four of 20 shots from the field for a pedestrian 20%.

His lowest shooting percentage in a game all season also came on the heels of one of his typical monster outings — he scored 42 on 51.9% with 10 in the second overtime of a big 134-127 win over the Denver Nuggets.  

But two days later, Brunson was ice cold as the Pistons made a statement that they should be the true favorites to come out of the East and reach the NBA Finals. 

Pistons' top star also struggled mightily 

Offensively, Detroit was able to fall a basket shy of 120 points as a team, thanks to their depth. Like Brunson, Cade Cunningham struggled to sink shots. He finished with just 11 points on a 4-of-11 night.

Pistons showed off their depth in the win 

But Tobias Harris stepped up, scoring 15. Paul Reed added 12 of his own while leading New York in minutes played at 27. Entering the day with a scoring average of 7.9 points per game, Daniss Jenkins carried the load with an extremely efficient 18 points with a 63.6% shooting clip. 

With the win, the now 38-13 Pistons snapped New York's eight-game win streak and dropped the Knicks to 33-19, putting them 5.5 games back and in third place in the conference standings. 

Knicks will get one last shot at Pistons in a couple of weeks 

The Knicks will have one last crack at getting revenge on Detroit when they meet for the final time of the regular season on Feb. 19 inside Madison Square Garden. 

Mike J. Asti

Mike Asti is an experienced media personality and journalist with a vast resume and skillset, most notably from time with TribLIVE Radio and WPXI-TV. Asti now serves as the Managing Editor of WV Sports Now, where he leads the coverage of WVU sports. He has also covered the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates and other teams within the Pittsburgh market

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