The Knicks served as a spark for the Pistons’ stunning rise this season.
One year after finishing with an NBA-worst 14 wins, the Pistons went 44-38 to mark one of the biggest turnarounds in league history.
What gave them the confidence they could be a legitimate playoff contender?
“There were two games in my mind that stand out as kind of mood-changing, belief-changing,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Thursday on SiriusXM NBA radio with Frank Isola and Brian Scalabrine. “One of them happened to be in Madison Square Garden, where we played the Knicks and we were able to come out with a win there. It just felt like our guys started to believe that they could compete with and beat some of the better teams in this league.”
The game Bickerstaff was referencing was the Pistons’ 120-111 win over the Knicks on Dec. 7.
Knicks’ loss to the Pistons on Dec. 7, 2024. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Cade Cunningham recorded 29 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds for the Pistons, who finished 3-1 against the Knicks in the regular season.
Pistons on Dec. 7, 2024. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Before that game, the Pistons were 9-15. But from that game on, they went 35-23.
“We were like, ‘If we can keep this up, keep building, keep getting better, we’ve got a chance,’ ” Bickerstaff said.
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Last year while with the Nets, Mikal Bridges missed out on the playoffs for the first time in three years.
He’s been itching to get back.
“I’m really excited to go,” Bridges said. “A year off feels so long from not making the playoffs. I’m excited for the atmosphere as well. It’s gonna be a really good series.”
He is also the only player in the Knicks rotation who has made it to the Finals, which he did while with the Suns in 2020-21.
P.J. Tucker won a championship with the Bucks (beating Bridges’ Suns), but is not expected to play much, if at all, in the postseason.
Bridges has been sharing advice with his teammates.
“It all starts with just one game at a time,” Bridges said. “You can’t look ahead. I think the fans, you guys look ahead a lot. It takes one game at a time. That’s what it is, just one game and play our best basketball, our best version for 48 minutes and go from there.”