The new territory of postseason basketball for the Detroit Pistons ended on a sour note. After holding a steady lead in the fourth quarter, the Pistons surrendered a crushing 21-0 run by the New York Knicks. That crucial stretch anchored the turnaround for the Knicks' 123-112 victory over the Pistons.

Detroit got a major scoring boost from forward Tobias Harris, putting up 25 points on 8-13 shooting from the field and 4-5 from 3-point range. During the postgame media session, the 32-year-old veteran expressed his emotions about the fourth-quarter collapse.

“The turnovers led to easy baskets for them. You can look at the last three, four minutes, too many fastbreak layups. When certain guys got in there and got hot from 3, that hurt us,” Harris explained, via Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press.

The Pistons were in control with an eight-point lead over the Knicks with about nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. That momentum was lost after seven of the Pistons' 19 turnovers were committed in the final period. The Knicks took advantage of the moment and outscored the Pistons 41-20 to close Game 1.

All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham had tough stretches during his first career playoff appearance. Cunningham's stat line finished with a double-double with 21 points and 12 assists. The constant double teams and blitzing from the Knicks impacted his efficiency at 8-21 shooting from the field and six turnovers. Cunningham was open about his performance with the media when asked about it after the game.

“They sent bodies at me more than anything,” Cunningham said. “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.”

Pistons' sixth man Malik Beasley was impactful with 20 points and six made 3-pointers. Shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. made his presence felt for Detroit with 19 points.

Detroit's frontcourt outside of Harris had a quiet night courtesy of foul trouble for center Jalen Duren and forward Ausar Thompson. Backup center Isaiah Stewart made an impact on defense but did not finish the night due to a knee injury.

This was Detroit's first NBA postseason appearance since 2019. Detroit is in the hunt for its first playoff victory since 2008. The majority of the Pistons' young core never played in a playoff game until Saturday night, and this was the first level of postseason for this group together.

There was an intense level of physicality from both teams all night. The chippy ways continued as the game went on. Even with the letdown and the high energy spent, Harris stated that the team was optimistic to correct their mistakes on Monday in Game 2.

“We're in the playoffs, we know what time it is. We don't have anybody in there pouting or holding their head down. We know what we're made of,” Harris told the media. “We know we work so hard for every single day of the year this season. This group is always about bouncing back and making sure our focus and energy level is where it needs to be. That's why vets like myself are here, to make sure the group's spirit is up. We dropped our first game, but we'll be ready to go for Game 2.”

The Pistons will face off with the Knicks at Madison Square Garden once again on Monday. Detroit will head back to Little Caesars Arena for Games 3 and 4 next Thursday.