Pistons, Clippers look to bounce back in NBA Playoffs double-header on TSN
Published
The New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets jumped out to early series leads on Saturday, now the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Clippers need to bounce back in an NBA Playoffs double-header on TSN.
New York stunned Detroit with a dominant 21-0 run in the fourth quarter that turned a potential upset for the Pistons into a raucous win for the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
It turned what was a 98-90 lead for the Pistons in the fourth quarter into an eventual 123-112 win for New York.
A vintage 32-point performance from James Harden wasn't enough to will the fifth-seed Clippers to a win over the Nuggets.
Nikola Jokic had another strong game for Denver, falling one rebound shy of a triple-double in the overtime victory.
Pressure rises for Pistons to shake off playoff demons
Detroit's loss in the series opener marked their 15th consecutive loss in the playoffs, extending an NBA record.
Each of Detroit's past three trips to the postseason resulted in sweeps - against the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019, and twice against the Cleveland Cavaliers (2009, 2016).
The last time the Pistons won a game in the playoffs was Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2008 against the Boston Celtics.
Some of the top performers on Detroit got their first taste of playoff action in the loss on Saturday - including Cade Cunningham, the top pick in the 2021 NBA Draft whose 26.1 points and 9.1 assists per game were a driving force behind the Pistons' success this season.
“Yeah, it was definitely learning experience," Cunningham said after Saturday's loss. "Something that I’ve never done before, I’ve never been a part of ... I tried to approach it like a regular game, read what the defense gives me, and exploit that."
"At the end of the day, it’s basketball. It’s something I’ve been doing since I was a kid. So, I don’t switch for the environment or anything. But, you know, this game got away from us.”
Veteran Tobias Harris - whose 63 career playoff starts leads the team by a wide margin - tried to turn the loss into something positive.
“Obviously, for this group, guys having first-time playoff experience, just understanding yeah, it stinks to lose, but it’s all about how you come back,” Harris said.
The Knicks, meanwhile, have advanced to the semifinals each of the last two seasons, and are hoping to go further this year behind centre Karl-Anthony Towns, who was added via trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the off-season.
Towns scored 23 points and finished with 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals in the win on Saturday. Jalen Brunson led the way with 34 points and eight assists.
“Obviously, we didn’t end the third quarter the way we wanted to, but there was never a doubt that we’re going to just lay down and not fight,” Brunson said. “We had to find a way to figure things out and keep battling and I mean, it turned around quickly.”
Cleaning up turnovers could give Clippers a big boost
The Clippers enter this postseason having fallen in the first round in each of their past two postseason trips. The key to avoiding that fate a third consecutive time may be well within reach.
Unlike the Pistons, the Clippers are a veteran group with a vast pool of playoff experience to draw from. Unfortunately for them, the Nuggets also have extensive playoff success - including a title in 2023 - to call on.
Star forward Kawhi Leonard has been named NBA Finals MVP twice in his career, while Saturday's top scorer, Harden, has played in 167 postseason games in his career. The veterans aren't overreacting after a disappointing result in Game 1.
Los Angeles turned the ball over 20 times against Denver in Game 1, compared to just 11 turnovers committed by Denver.
“If you turn over 20 times against the team that is No. 1 in offensive transition, then you’re gonna lose the game,” lamented Clippers coach Tyronn Lue.
“The biggest thing for us is our turnovers, and it’s the careless turnovers. Denver’s playing. They’re blitzing, they’re aggressive, their physicality. So you’re going to have 10 turnovers because of that. But you can’t have 20, especially on the road. A lot of those turnovers are careless, and we just got to do a better job of cleaning that up.”
Leonard shrugged off the loss, saying the team’s mood was “Still good. Just Game 1. You know, Denver’s a good team, especially at home. Still got Game 2.”
Leonard committed seven of the team's 20 turnovers, but his teammates are confident the 33-year-old superstar will clean it up moving forward.
“Kawhi’s always looking to make the right play,” centre Ivica Zubac, who finished with 21 points said. “Sometimes it might be a pass, sometimes it may be a shot. But he’s a big-time player who makes big-time plays. I’m sure he knows what he did well, what he didn’t. And I am sure he’s going to make adjustments on his own and be better in Game 2, like we all are.”