Knicks defense flops as they hit a season low point with loss to Pistons

The Knicks hit the halfway mark — Game 41 — at a low point of this roller-coaster season. Behind clutch 3-pointers from Malik Beasley, the Pistons escaped Monday night with another victory at MSG, exposing the Knicks’ faulty defense in a 124-119 win. With about 40 seconds remaining, the Knicks double-teamed their tormentor of the evening — All-Star candidate Cade Cunningham — which led to a pair of passes around the perimeter to Beasley for an open trey and a four-point Pistons advantage. Then with six seconds remaining, a similar play involving a Cunningham double left Beasley open again for the dagger and the final score of the evening. The Knicks (26-15) are still on pace to win 52 games, but it feels worse as they’ve dropped five of their past seven. They tried to ride Jalen Brunson in the fourth quarter, and the Knicks captain responded with 12 of his 31 points in the final nine minutes.But they couldn’t stop the Pistons down the stretch, especially Cunningham, who finished with 36 points in just 32 minutes. These aren’t the same ol’ Pistons, and the struggling Knicks were hit with a reminder. Their defeat was on the second night of a back-to-back after a victory Sunday over the Bucks.

Brunson started and played 39 minutes after being listed as questionable before tipoff because of a sore shoulder he sustained during his 44-point gem the afternoon prior. Karl-Anthony Towns, meanwhile, totaled 43 minutes as Thibodeau decided against using a backup center.Towns was also aggressive despite injuring his thumb in the first half on a layup attempt, with his hand crashing into the backboard.

He put a black wrap around his right thumb and often winced in pain while scoring 26 points with 12 rebounds. An embarrassment last season under Monty Williams, the Pistons (21-19) have been trending upward and entered Monday with nine wins in their past 11 games.It’s a product of development and offseason upgrades, with JB Bickerstaff taking over a...