The Knicks finally won a basketball game. It took until the fourth game of the season, but they finally managed to pull through, defeating the Pistons, 111-97.

The Knicks went all of last regular season without a win vs. the Pistons. It had looked to be the same story after the Knicks found themselves down 13 at the end of the first quarter, before the Knicks outscored the Pistons by 27 points over the final three quarters.

Winner No. 1: Mikal Bridges

Mikal Bridges seems like the clear No. 1 winner for the Knicks in their first win of the season. After scoring just 10 points through his first three games, he hit his first four threes of the season, which accounted for all 12 of his points. Also, he was excellent on the defensive side.

It really takes impressive mental fortitude and professionalism for Bridges to just take all that’s been thrown at him from fans and media (including yours truly) and still go out there and compete. As soon as he made his first three tonight, he really looked like he had been awoken from a long slumber.

In Bridges’ 31:53 on the floor on Tuesday, the Knicks had a 115.6 offensive rating, 98.5 defensive rating, and +17.2 net rating across 64 possessions. Prior to this game, the Knicks had an 89.6 ORTG, 115.7 DRTG, and -26.1 NETRTG with Bridges on the floor.

Winner No. 2: Rest of Knicks’ starting lineup

Speaking of Knicks’ starters, the Knicks’ starting lineup put together their first good—well, it was actually amazing—performance of the season as a unit. They had a 137.5 ORTG with a 62.9% TS% in 16:29 together across 32 offensive possessions. In 31 defensive possessions, they shined to a 96.8 DRTG, holding the Pistons to a 46.9% TS% in those minutes.

That's the highest ORTG by the Knicks' starting lineup since Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. the Sixers back in May. They had posted a 144.4 ORTG as a unit in that game, which they won 137-98.

For the game, the Knicks’ starting lineup outscored the Pistons 44-to-30. On average in the team’s first three games, they had been outscored by 7.3 points per game, only sporting a 42.6% TS%, along with an 82.1 ORTG, 107.5 DRTG, and -25.4 NETRTG.

The ball was flowing more, and it didn’t feel like the ball was only in Jalen Brunson’s hands on Tuesday.

Winner No. 3: Towns & Drummond

Karl-Anthony Towns shined heavily within the starting lineup unit, scoring 19 of the five-man lineup’s 44 points, going 8-of-10 with nine rebounds in that single lineup. For the night overall, he had 27 points (12-of-21 shooting) with 20 rebounds. It was his 17th career game with 20+ points and 20+ rebounds—and his first since early February.

He was a crucial part for the Knicks to pick up the victory over the Pistons. He scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half, as Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson were feeding him the rock constantly as the Knicks pulled away from Detroit.

While the biggest talking point regarding Knicks’ centers will be surrounding KAT taking over on Tuesday, Andre Drummond was superb in his 14:14 on the floor. He had 10 points and eight rebounds, after having been hooked in each of the last two games.

The Knicks won Drummond’s minutes by 15 against his former team, sporting a 139.3 ORTG, 82.8 DRTG, and +56.5 NETRTG across 28 possessions. The Knicks had a 67.2% TS% when Drummond was on the floor, as well as a 45.5% OREB% with him out there. He was an active force in the pick-and-roll game, on the boards, and on defense.

Loser No. 1: James Wiseman

As a result of Drummond playing well, Wiseman only played in the last 1:13 of the game when the game had turned into a blowout. He had come in to relieve Drummond in each of the past two games, due to the veteran’s poor play.

In his action on the floor vs. Detroit, Wiseman had a turnover and a rebound as his only additions to the stat book. He’s now gone three games without scoring for the Knicks since making his return to the NBA, having last played in four games for the Pacers late in 2025.

Loser No. 2: End of Knicks’ Bench

The Knicks had gotten out to a 27-point lead in the fourth quarter, but they were outscored 34-to-21 over the final 11:10 of the game. The Pistons had emptied their bench with over seven minutes left, but that didn’t prevent them from making things interesting.

However, the Knicks didn’t get the chance to empty their bench until there was 1:14 left in the game. That only gave them time for two offensive and defensive possessions where Tyler Kolek, who filled in nicely for Jose Alvarado, scored the only points in those minutes off free throws.

Remember: This was the Knicks’ first time this season not being in a close game for the full 48 minutes, so this would’ve been the first garbage time minutes of the season, but the non-rotation players will have to hope to impress in other situations.