Knicks Beat Pistons 111-97 for First Win as Towns Scores 27 With 20 Rebounds

The New York Knicks won their first game of the season on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, beating the Detroit Pistons 111-97 at Madison Square Garden. Karl-Anthony Towns led New York with 27 points and 20 rebounds. The win moved the Knicks to 1-3 and kept them from becoming the first defending NBA champion to open a season 0-4 since the 1969-70 Boston Celtics.

Detroit arrived in New York undefeated, and for one quarter the Pistons looked ready to stay that way. New York had lost its first three games of the season, and it trailed by 13 points after the first quarter before the game turned in the third.

A third quarter that decided the game

Detroit started faster and led 38-25 after the first quarter. New York edged in front 51-50 by halftime, then took control in the third quarter, outscoring the Pistons 37-13 to lead 88-63. Towns scored 13 of his 27 points in that quarter. New York pushed the lead to 27 points early in the fourth quarter. Detroit cut the margin to 104-93 with 2:39 left, but the Knicks closed out the win. The quarter scores were 25, 26, 37 and 23 for New York, and 38, 12, 13 and 34 for Detroit.

Support around Towns

Jalen Brunson added 23 points and 7 assists for New York. OG Anunoby and Landry Shamet scored 13 points each, Mikal Bridges scored 12, and Andre Drummond added 10 points off the bench. Towns pulled down a season high 20 rebounds to go with his game high 27 points, doing most of his scoring damage in the third quarter run that broke the game open.

Detroit falls for the first time

Paul Reed led Detroit with 22 points and 9 rebounds, starting in place of the injured Jalen Duren. Cade Cunningham finished with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Duncan Robinson scored 12 points, and Ausar Thompson and Daniss Jenkins scored 11 each. The loss was Detroit's first of the season, dropping the Pistons to 3-1 and ending their bid for a first 4-0 start since the 2018-19 season. The result also snapped New York's six game losing streak against Detroit, a run in which the Pistons won all three meetings last season by an average of 28 points.

What comes next

Detroit hosts Charlotte on Wednesday night, and the Knicks visit Chicago on Wednesday night. New York goes on the road with its first win secured, and Detroit returns home with its unbeaten start over after one bad third quarter at the Garden.