Pistons stop NBA playoff slide, vintage Leonard leads Clippers past Nuggets in Denver

• Notching their first postseason win since Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics, the Pistons made the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
• Leonard hit 15 of 19 and the Clippers held off NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic’s triple-double.

Los Angeles, With a 100-94 win against the New York Knicks on Monday, the Detroit Pistons ended their record 15-game NBA playoff losing run, tying their Eastern Conference first-round series at one game each.

As the Pistons stopped another Knicks’ comeback attempt, Cade Cunningham scored 33 points with 12 rebounds and Dennis Schroder contributed 20 points off the bench—including a go-ahead three-pointer with 55.7 seconds remaining.

Beating the Nuggets 105-102 in Denver, the Los Angeles Clippers also recovered from a Game 1 loss thanks to a fantastic 39-point effort by Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard shot 15 of 19 and the Clippers held off NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic’s triple-double of 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to even their Western Conference series at 1-1.

In the playoffs for the first time since 2019, the Pistons recorded their first postseason win since Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference finals vs the Boston Celtics.

Two days after the Knicks used a 21-0 scoring run to come back in Game 1, the Pistons were pushed to the finish in a fast-paced, physical battle at Madison Square Garden.

Though the Knicks had reduced the gap to eight heading into the last quarter, they led by as much as 15 in the third.

With 1:15 left, New York star Jalen Brunson scored 14 of his 37 points in the fourth and set up Josh Hart for a slam tying it at 94-94.

Schroder, however, quickly responded with a three-pointer that gave the Pistons permanent lead.

While Schroder and Jalen Duren connected at the free-throw line to clinch Detroit’s victory, the Knicks went scoreless on three consecutive possessions.

Harris scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds; Duren had 12 points and 13 boards for the Pistons, who host Game 3 on Thursday.

Cunningham said, “Feels good to represent the city like we did tonight.” We feel good about it as the city has been waiting on it for a long, hence we are eager to return to the cot and play in front of them.

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was annoyed with what he saw as uneven refereeing, pointing out the Pistons shot 34 free throws to the Knicks’ 19.

“If Cunningham’s driving and there’s little contact and he’s getting to the line, then Jalen (Brunson) deserves to be getting to the line,” Thibodeau said.

Another exciting game in Denver saw the Clippers recover from a close Game 1 overtime loss because of a classic effort by Leonard, an NBA champion in 2014 and 2019 who has been injured in recent years.

Leonard set the tone early, hitting nine of his 10 first-half shots and sent the Clippers into halftime leading 55-52 with a buzzer-beating three-pointer.

featuring 2:07 left, Murray’s three-pointer knotted the Nuggets at 100-100 in a game featuring 18 lead changes.

Norman Powell stole a three-pointer and Leonard hit a jump jumper to give the Clippers 105-102. With 37.3 seconds remaining, Leonard took a Jokic pass and Los Angeles hung on as Christian Braun and Jokic missed in the last seconds.

Leonard said, “I just kept going and stayed in the zone.” I didn’t care if shots were making or missing. I just kept firing.