Pistons snap NBA playoff skid, vintage Leonard leads Clippers

The Detroit Pistons snapped their record 15-game NBA playoff losing streak with a 100-94 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday to level their Eastern Conference first-round series at one game apiece.

Cade Cunningham scored 33 points with 12 rebounds, and Dennis Schroder added 20 points off the bench -- including a go-ahead three-pointer with 55.7 seconds left -- as the Pistons thwarted another Knicks’ rally bid.

The Los Angeles Clippers also bounced back from a game-one defeat, beating the Nuggets 105-102 in Denver behind a brilliant 39-point performance from Kawhi Leonard.

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

The Pistons, in the playoffs for the first time since 2019, notched their first playoff victory since game four of the 2008 Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics.

Two days after the Knicks authored a 21-0 scoring run to rally in game one, the Pistons were pushed to the finish in a fast-paced, physical encounter at Madison Square Garden.

They led by as many as 15 in the third quarter, but the Knicks had cut the deficit to eight going into the final period.

New York star Jalen Brunson scored 14 of his 37 points in the fourth and fed Josh Hart for a dunk that tied it at 94-94 with 1:15 to play.

But Schroder answered immediately, drilling a three-pointer that put the Pistons ahead for good.

The Knicks came up empty on three straight possessions while Schroder and Jalen Duren connected at the free-throw line to seal Detroit’s win.

Tobias Harris scored 15 points and pulled down 13 rebounds and Duren had 12 points and 13 boards for the Pistons, who host game three on Thursday.

“Feels good to represent the city like we did tonight,” Cunningham said. “It’s something that the city’s been waiting on for a long time, so we feel good about it.”