NEW YORK _ The New York tabloids will scream headlines featuring second-year New York Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis on Thursday morning.
But Detroit Pistons Stan Van Gundy will probably still be irritated at a stat sheet that saw his team outrebounded 52-40 in the Knicks' 105-102 victory.
Porzingis scored a career-high 35 points to help the Knicks (5-6) snap the Pistons' brief two-game winning streak.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 21 points, but barely missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime. The Pistons (6-6) are now 1-6 on the road.
Knicks star Carmelo Anthony added 22 points, but the Knicks won the game on the glass with 19 offensive rebounds. The Knicks scored 20 second-chance points.
Andre Drummond (right ankle) started and had 15 points and nine rebounds.
Anthony and Porzingis combined for 16 points in the first quarter for the Knicks, as they took a 29-27 edge.
The Pistons used a 6-0 run fueled by the bench to take a 33-29 lead early in the second against the weak Knicks bench.
But Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek reinserted Porzingis, who instantly sparked a 10-2 run.
He completed a three-point play after dunking an alley-oop pass from former Piston Brandon Jennings and his 3-pointer on the next possession gave the Knicks a 39-35 lead at the 7:29 mark.
The Knicks led by seven points on several occasions, but the Pistons only trailed by five at 54-49 at halftime. Drummond had 10 points and eight rebounds.
But Porzingis was the story with 23 points at halftime.
The Knicks led by 12 on several occasions in the third quarter, but Caldwell-Pope's 10 points kept the Pistons in striking distance.
The Knicks took an 81-74 lead into the fourth quarter.
Earlier in the day, Drummond had his ankle wrapped in ice under the direction of director of sports medicine Jon Ishop.
Drummond participated in the morning walk-through at the New York Athletic Club to prepare for the game.
The Pistons were able to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night when Aron Baynes and Boban Marjanovic filled in very capably.
"Having those guys coming off the bench for us this season, both of them are NBA starters," Drummond said. "For them to come in the way they played against a great team, against a great guard like Russell Westbrook and were able to slow him down a little bit, that's huge."
