Alec Burks poured in a season-high 34 points off the bench Wednesday as the visiting New York Knicks rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat the depleted Detroit Pistons 94-85.
Immanuel Quickly had 18 points and RJ Barrett tossed in 15 for New York.
Detroit’s Saddiq Bey had a career-high 32 points and Hamidou Diallo supplied 31 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons.
The Pistons had 12 players listed as out, including eight in league protocols. They used six players who were signed to 10-day contracts in the past week.
Knicks guard Evan Fournier was a late scratch due to a sore right ankle. Pistons guard Frank Jackson exited in the first half with an ankle injury.
New York has won three in a row for just the second time this season and has now beaten Detroit in seven consecutive meetings.
The Pistons have lost four in a row and 18 of their last 19 games.
Detroit missed its first eight shot attempts. The Knicks weren’t much better, shooting 31.8 percent for the quarter, but emerged with a 23-20 lead.
New York had an 11-0 run early in the second quarter that included five points from Burks and a basket and two assists from Quickley.
Barrett scored 13 points in the half as the Knicks led 48-41 heading into the third quarter. Bey had 16 points as the Pistons hung around despite shooting 32.6 percent.
Detroit opened the second half with an 11-0 outburst that included six Diallo points. Soon after, a Diallo jumper began a 14-2 run that extended the Pistons’ lead to 66-52.
The Knicks trimmed the Pistons’ lead to 71-64 before the quarter ended.
The Knicks dominated the fourth quarter, starting with a 14-0 New York that Burks engineered. He had 10 points, an assist and a steal during that span to give his team a 78-71 advantage.
Burks’ hook shot gave New York a 10-point lead, 85-75, with 4:51 remaining. After Diallo scored five straight points to keep the Pistons firing, Burks fired in a 3-pointer.
–Field Level Media