Controversial no-call costs Detroit Pistons at New York Knicks; Quentin Grimes stars in role

After trailing for the entire second and third quarters, the Detroit Pistons had a chance to win late.

In front of a crowd that he called home until the trade deadline three weeks ago, Quentin Grimes made a layup with 37.3 seconds left to give the Pistons the lead, 111-110. They trailed by 13 midway through the third quarter, and were only in the game because of a heroic night from Cade Cunningham.

The former New York Knick had a big night against his former team. But the Knicks ultimately prevailed, thanks to a wild and controversial final sequence. Both teams fought for possession of the ball after a missed Jalen Brunson stepback 3, and the officials decided to let both teams play while allowing contact.

But Pistons rookie Ausar Thompson was tackled by Dante Divincenzo and Brunson while diving for a loose ball out of bounds, and the referees didn’t blow the whistle. Head coach Monty Williams was incensed as Brunson gained possession of the ball and found Josh Hart for a layup, which he made while being fouled by Jalen Duren.

But ultimately, the Pistons have themselves to blame. Hart missed the free throw, but grabbed his own missed shot after it bounced off of the back of the rim before being fouled by Thompson. He split the second trip to the line, but he was able to recover his second miss to seal the win for the Knicks, 113-111.

Detroit turned the ball over 17 times and gave up 15 offensive rebounds, leading to 30 points off of turnovers and 23 second-chance points for the Knicks. Cunningham made his first seven shots and didn’t miss in the first half en route to a 32-point, eight-assist, five-rebound night. He also blocked two shots.

Grimes, who the Knicks traded to the Pistons at the Feb. 8 trade deadline, scored 14 points, blocked three shots and shot 3-for-6 from 3. Brunson led all scorers with 35 points and 12 assists. The Knicks were without Julius Randle due to a dislocated right shoulder.

Former Pistons Bojan Bogdanovic (13 points) and Alec Burks (seven points) came off of the bench for the Knicks.

Cunningham carries Pistons, has near-perfect first half

It was as flawless a first half as one could play. Cunningham came out firing, knocking down two 3-pointers and a crossover midrange jumper in the first five minutes to power the Pistons to an early 17-10 lead.

He gave Detroit the lead again, 23-22, with a bullet pass to James Wiseman for a dunk before checking out. Monty Williams turned to his usual all-bench lineup to close the quarter, going with a unit of Wiseman, Malachi Flynn, Evan Fournier, Tosan Evbuomwan and Quentin Grimes From there, the game turned in the Knicks’ favor.

The second unit struggled, as New York opened the second quarter with a 17-7 run to take a 12-point lead, 46-34, midway through. Jaden Ivey checked in three minutes into the period, but it wasn’t until Cunningham re-entered the game at the 7:13 mark that Detroit found momentum again.

He assisted Ausar Thompson in transition for a dunk following a block on the other end, hit a 3-pointer and knocked down five 3-pointers during a 19-7 Pistons run that tied the game at 53. After entering halftime with 20 points on perfect 6-for-6 shooting and 5-for-5 at the line, he kept Detroit afloat with a big third quarter.

Cunningham ended up going 7-for-7, knocking down a midrange jumper early in the third, before he missed his first shot. But he went on to make two more 3’s during the period, in which he scored 12 points. But Detroit couldn’t generate any offense when the ball wasn’t in Cunningham’s hands, and the Knicks entered the fourth with a 94-82 lead.

After playing the entire third, Cunningham took a long rest to start the fourth. It set up a big night for the Pistons’ recent arrivals from the Knicks.

Grimes shines late for Pistons

Grimes teased on Saturday that bigger things were ahead of him after a mixed-bag debut on Saturday, during which he had impactful moments defensively but struggled to hit shots.

It took time for him to find a rhythm on Monday, but he delivered his best stretch in the fourth quarter as the Pistons rallied. He scored all 14 points and played all 12 minutes, delivering big shots late. He gave Detroit its first lead, 106-104, with his third 3-pointer of the quarter at the 3:49 mark, and gave Detroit the lead for the final time with a layup with 37.3 seconds left.

It wasn’t just his scoring — he found Jalen Duren with a dump-off pass for a layup midway through the first to cut it to three, and found Flynn downhill for a layup after producing a steal. Cunningham checked in for the final time with 7:30 remaining, and the Pistons were down 98-93. Grimes was a primary reason they were able to survive until their franchise player returned.

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.

Customize your Free Press experience: Download our app for the latest news, alerts, eNewspaper and more.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Controversial no-call costs Detroit Pistons in 113-111 loss at Knicks