Playing in their first game six since 2008, the Detroit Pistons will try to stave off elimination for a second successive occasion when they welcome the New York Knicks to Little Caesars Arena in that opening round NBA series on Thursday.
On Tuesday, the Pistons lived to fight another day thanks to a narrow 106-103 victory, their second triumph at Madison Square Garden in this series.
Match preview
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As has been the case throughout much of this series, game five was a fight to the finish, and in the end, Detroit did enough to remain in the post-season.
JB Bickerstaff's group had nine steals in game five and managed to stay with the Knicks in the opening two-quarters of that must-win contest.
That was key as they outscored New York in the third quarter just like they had in every other encounter in this series, scoring 14 fastbreak points overall in game five.
With a victory on Thursday, they would become the first team to force a game 7 in the opening round of an Eastern Conference NBA playoff series after being down 3-1, since the Brooklyn Nets did that against the Chicago Bulls in 2013.
While they are still alive, the Pistons do not have a great post-season track record in Detroit, losing an NBA record-tying nine straight home playoff fixtures dating back to 2008.
It has been over 20 years since they last won a game six on their home court, defeating the Miami Heat in the 2005 Eastern Conference final and advancing to the NBA Finals that season.
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A third consecutive opening round series win was temporarily put on hold Tuesday as the Knicks lost for a fourth time in their last five home games dating back to the regular season.
Once again, New York were very poor from the line, with a free throw shooting percentage of 59.3%, while the Pistons were at 72.2%, which in the end made a difference.
The Knicks have been much stronger away from Madison Square Garden lately, winning three successive road games, counting the regular season.
At the same time, they have not lost a game six opening round best of seven playoff series on the road this century, winning at the Philadelphia 76ers at this same stage a season ago.
In all three of their away games in this series, Tom Thibodeau's team have led after the opening quarter but have been outscored in three of their four second-half quarters.
New York have won three of their last four playoff games against Detroit in the Motor City, though Thursday will be the first time these two teams ever face each other in a game six.
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Team News
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In game five, the Pistons were without Isaiah Stewart due to right knee inflammation, while Jaden Ivey was sidelined because of a broken leg.
Cade Cunningham led Detroit with a game-high 24 points on Tuesday, Ausar Thompson made eight of his 10 field goal attempts for 22 points and Tobias Harris had 17 points, knocking down three of his five attempts from three-point land to help them the win.
During game five, the Knicks Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart were temporarily sidelined with injuries in the fourth quarter and did not return until the final 27 seconds.
OG Anunoby led New York with 19 points and eight boards in game five, going three of four from beyond the arc, Karl-Anthony Towns had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Brunson had his worst contest of the series Tuesday, shooting 4/16 with 16 points.
Detroit Pistons possible starting five:
Cunningham, Hardaway Jr.; Harris, Thompson; Duren
New York Knicks possible starting five:
Bridges, Brunson; Anunoby, Hart; Towns
We say: Pistons to win by 2+ points
The Pistons have been at their best in this series when coming from behind, and despite their dismal home record in the playoffs, we believe free-throw shooting will favour Detroit, forcing this exciting series to go the distance.
Joel Lefevre
