New York Knicks did not want to show Detroit Pistons too much Thursday evening in a potential preview of a first round in the NBA playoffs.
But Knicks could really use a statement type on Friday night when they close their home schedule by hosting the eastern conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers.
Both teams will complete a back-to-back set after being hit by road feed on Thursday evening, when Knicks fell to Pistons 115-106 and Cavaliers lost to Indiana Pacers 114-112.
Knicks (50-30) could have climbed the third seed in the east with a victory on Thursday and will try again to do it on Friday. New York is a game ahead of fourth place Pacers (49-31) and has tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season 2-matches to 1.
With the sixth-seeded pistons their most likely playoffs opponents treated Knick’s Thursday’s collision as a glorious exhibition. Starters and Anunoby (thumb), Josh Hart (knee) and Mitchell Robinson (maintenance after ankle surgery) set out.
Jalen Brunson played his third straight match since returning from a 15-game’s absence due to a justified right ankle, although he only played 29 minutes, his smallest workload since February 21 in a loss to Cavaliers.
Brunson saw only a little more playing time than 39-year-old PJ Tucker, who played 27 minutes in just his second look this season. Brunson got 15 points.
“You just have to be ready to play,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. “Whoever they have out there, whoever we have out there, is the challenge you are facing right now.”
Cavaliers (63-17) was also in Tune-up mode Thursday evening, two nights after they dressed the top seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Chicago Bulls 135-113.
Subsequently, Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson admitted that he can give a liberal rest along the route to key players, especially the leading goal scorer Donovan Mitchell, who received a scared left ankle in a loss of 120-113 to Sacramento Kings.
“I would rather make him wrong on the side of caution,” said Atkinson Tuesday night.
Mitchell put out her second straight game Thursday, when colleagues Darius Garland (left toe), Evan Mobley (rest) and Max Strus (right knee) were also inactive.
Jarrett Allen, who made his 80th start in so many games, was united in the set of Reserve De’andre Hunter, for Jerome, Sam Merrill and Dean Wade, who have made a combined 41 start this season.
But even with the paragraph meal lineup, Cavalier’s almost a six-point deficit over the last three minutes before Jaylon Tyson missed a potential game-binding jumper at the summer.
Even before a reduced Roster Friday would provide a valuable opportunity for Knicks, which is 0-3 against Cleveland this season and 1-10 combined against Oklahoma City Thunder, Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets, which have the four best records in the league.
Eight of these defeats have been with at least 10 points, including Knick’s two last losses to Cavaliers-21 February, when Cleveland rolled to a victory 142-105 and April 2, when New York fell 124-105.
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