They made them sweat, and that works for all parties involved on Saturday’s series opener between the Knicks and the Pistons, played at MSG.

New York found itself down eight entering the fourth quarter, but put together a masterful 21-0 run to teach the inexperienced dudes from Detroit a solid lesson as the Knicks marched on to a 123-112 win and a 1-0 first-round lead.

Here’s what Coach Thibs, a few Knickerbockers, and all sorts of Pistonians said before and after yesterday’s affair.

“I think he grabbed his cape.”

“The thing about him is he knows exactly who he is. He comes in with great energy every game. He prepares himself well each and every day. He gave us a huge spark. But that’s been who he is.

“He’s a high-energy guy, a catalyst.”

“I thought Cam gave us a huge lift in the fourth quarter there. And I thought our offense was really good in the fourth, and our defense was really good. We gotta do it for 48 minutes.”

“It’s one win and then we gotta reset and get ready for the next one. Understand what goes into it, and there’s a lot of things we can do better.”

“I thought our defense got us going. We got some stops. We got into the open floor. And we got some easy scoring opportunities.”

“You can play him on the ball, off the ball. You can use him as a playmaker, as a scorer. You can play him in the post, you can play him in pick and roll, you can play him in catch and shoot. He scores in three different levels. There’s a lot of different things that puts a lot of pressure on the defense, and he creates easy offense for people.”

“The key was Cam Payne, the violation at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The way we started the first couple of minutes, that was the key.”

“Cam always has the energy, regardless of who we’re playing, where we’re playing and what time we’re playing. He has the energy from when we walk into the arena.”

“We found a way to turn it on, got to give a shout out to Cam Payne with the energy. He was big time for us.”

“There was never a doubt that we were not going to just lay down and not fight. We were going to figure out ways to keep battling. … It was a quick turnaround and just happy with the way we played in the fourth.”

“I just think we were connected, and we were getting stops out there and just finding a way to get out in transition after we got the ball. Just the way we played defensively was key — especially in the fourth quarter.”

“Obviously, we didn’t end the third quarter the way we wanted to, but there was never a doubt that we’re going to just lay down and not fight. We had to find a way to figure things out and keep battling and I mean, it turned around quickly.”

“No, the key was Cam Payne.”

“It’s important, no matter what game it is. When you get a win it does a lot for your confidence, but tomorrow will be a reset then we’ll refocus and then get ready for Game 2.”

“I felt like they had a good game plan. And I just had to reset. And I found a way to get going in the second half. Teammates have the utmost confidence in me and I appreciate that to the fullest. So I just had to find a way to reset and regain composure.”

“Gotta give them a lot of credit, they pushed us. We just found a way in the fourth quarter to get stops and find a way to win.”

“I been kind of waiting on that all year. I’ve been waiting on this game, how I played today, all year.”

“My mom was sitting, not right behind the bench, but kinda up there. And I was just looking at them like, ‘Let’s turn up, let’s turn up.’

“She was up there doing the same thing I was doing. She was like, ‘Yeah, turn up, turn up.’ I’m just like her, that’s where I get my energy from.”

“I [am one of] the oldest guys on the team, so having somebody into the game, it’s a different kind of experience, especially for the rookies.

“We’re in the NBA, sometimes people have the chill [mindset], just chilling. I’m happy to be in the league, I enjoy it, so I try to just have fun every single night. I could be doing something else, but I’m playing in the Garden. I gotta have fun.

“I just try my best to bring my energy and it’s infectious. Everybody feeds off it. That’s a good feeling.”

“I got some experience, I’ve been there before. I know how the fourth quarter gets. You still gotta play your game, you still gotta play Knicks basketball at the end of the day. You can’t get bottled up within the game. We just gotta be ourselves.”

“It’s fun man. It’s a hell of an atmosphere. I was on the opposing side of it last year and it was tough, it was loud as s—t in there. Being on the flip side of it felt good, that ovation felt good. I’ve been waiting on that all year, how I played today all year, so I’m just grateful. I thank God for everything that happened tonight, I’m just grateful to still be playing in this league.”

“We did a good job. You can’t take away everything, so some guys made some shots. We’ll look at the film and try to fix some of that stuff up. But I thought we did a good job.

“(Towns) was big time, (Mitchell Robinson) was big time. Josh (Hart) and Mikal (Bridges) were flying around.”

“We all know what Cam is capable of—that’s what he does.”

“I was just trying to make it as difficult as possible. Make his catches difficult, pressure him, be aggressive, and just try to force him into tough shots.”

“Defensively is where we made that run. We got stops. Got out, got easy buckets. Cam came in and was electric for us. It was huge. We’ve got to make sure we build off that.”

“I didn’t even know he went to the locker room. He’s a warrior. He’s going to battle for us. Obviously he’s playing through the ankle. Can’t say enough about his toughness, his grit. Fourth quarter, end of the game, obviously he made plays for us.”

“It’s just something that he thrives in. He loves big moments and that’s something that he loves. It’s something that we’re extremely comfortable with the ball in his hands in those moments. He has that confidence because he puts the work in.”

“I think we’ve done a great job of fighting through adversity all year.”

“Of course you want to throw the first punch, but it’s only one game. We gotta continue to execute at a high level and we gotta continue to stay connected if we want to beat a great team.”

“Not bad for a non-defensive player.”

“Our execution failed us, I think. You have eight turnovers in a quarter, it’s going to be hard to overcome.”

“This is experience. Now you come back the next game, and how quickly do you learn from it? You got guys in their first playoff game, understanding what playoff basketball is and what closing a playoff basketball game is and how hard that is. It’s hard to win in the playoffs because people are laying it all out there.”

“[The Knicks] did what they were supposed to do in Game 1. Now we’ve got tape, we’ve got some experience. We can go back, break it down and be better in Game 2.”

“First, we’re never intimidated by anybody. We’re not intimidated by any moment. That’s just the way our guys are built . . . experience. How quickly can you learn from it? That’s the most important thing for us. Our guys are good enough. Individually, they’re good enough. We just have to go out and play well.”

“OG is a good defender, but Cade means more to us than just his final point tally. When you look at his assist numbers, how he created for everybody else, how he rebounds the basketball, those types of things… Obviously, we can improve on the turnovers and those types of things.”

“He is, in my opinion, one of the best winners that this league has currently playing — but it just can’t be easy, right?”

“Like, you know his first move. You got to try to eliminate his first move. You’ve got to make him a shot-taker and not get to the free throw line — small things like that. But again, we know who he is. Obviously [we] have that respect for him, but we just have to make it a challenge to be as physical as we can without fouling, limit his touches, try to keep him from his sweet spots and all those things.”

“They sent bodies at me more than anything. They made sure that every time I came off, they were sending bodies at me trying to get the ball out of my hands … for three and a half quarters we were comfortable. Just have to close out the game.”

“They were sending bodies at me all the time, trying to get the ball out of my hands. I couldn’t pick them apart enough.”

“I enjoyed it a lot. I think the whole group enjoyed it. It was loud in there, it was rockin’.”

“Just us playing our game, battling on the boards, the pace, get stops. At the end, just gotta clean up the little things, not turning the ball over, make sure we get good shots on the rim each trip and we’ve gotta cut out their second chance points.”

“It’s definitely a learning experience. It’s something I’ve never done before or been a part of… This game got away from us and I’m just ready for Game 2.”

“We were just clicking, really.”

“It’s a series. You can’t get too high, you can’t get too low.”

“We’re in the playoffs. We know what time it is. This group is always about bouncing back and making sure we’re focusing, our energy level is where it needs to be. That’s why vets like myself are here to make sure this group’s spirit is up. … We’re excited and we’re embracing this challenge. Drop our first game, but we’ll be ready to go for Game 2.”

“Obviously, for this group, guys having first-time playoff experience, just understanding yeah, it stinks to lose, but it’s all about how you come back.”

“I thought he did good. For him, there’s some adjustments that myself and him just talked about that he can make out there. But overall, in terms of doing the right thing for the group, he’s always in a pure position night after night. The guy wants to win more than anybody, wants to lead this team in the way he’s done all season long. And it’s only going to get better for him game by game with experience.”

“We’ve been playing basketball our whole lives, basically. Just go out there, have fun, enjoy the moment and stick to what the coaching staff has been implementing all season.”

“It’s a new season now, so all that stuff was preparation. We worked our tails off to get to this situation, to put ourselves in this position, to go against a phenomenal team.”