The key facts

  • The Knicks snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Pistons 111:97
  • Towns — 27 points and 20 rebounds, Brunson — 23 points and 7 assists
  • The Pistons suffered their first loss after three wins and stand at 3-1

First win for the defending champions

The reigning NBA champion New York Knicks finally earned their first win of the season, beating the Detroit Pistons 111:97 on Tuesday. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 27 points, and Jalen Brunson added 23 points and seven assists. The Knicks, who won the title in June and ended a fifty-year drought, had opened the season with three losses and avoided the dubious 'honor' of becoming the first defending champions since 1969 to start 0-4, AFP reports.

Course of the game

The Pistons, who had won their first three games of the season, started strong and led by 13 points early in the second quarter thanks to productive play from Paul Reed and Cade Cunningham. Brunson made only 1 of 9 shots in the first half, but the Knicks regrouped, took a one-point lead by halftime, and were up by 25 by the end of the third quarter. The hosts held the visitors to 25 points combined in the second and third quarters. 'We were able to get stops on defense, run a little and build a big enough lead, knowing they would make a run,' Brunson said, adding after the game: 'Rome wasn't built in a day. It's a new year, a new team.'

Final score and other games

Trailing by 21 points, Detroit head coach J.B. Bickerstaff sent in his reserves with seven and a half minutes left, while the Knicks' starting five stayed on the floor; Towns finished the game with 20 rebounds. The Pistons, who posted the best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference last year, are now 3-1: Reed scored 22 points, and Cunningham had 19 points, eight assists and nine rebounds. In another game, Victor Wembanyama helped the San Antonio Spurs beat the Sacramento Kings 130:103 — 29 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and two steals; the Spurs, who lost to the Knicks in last year's finals, improved to 2-2, while the Kings fell to 0-4. Jayson Tatum scored 40 points and dished out eight assists as Boston beat the Brooklyn Nets 125:124 on a basket with one second left in overtime; regulation had ended tied at 117:117.