New York Knicks 111, Detroit Pistons 97

The Knicks have their first win. They got it by surviving a bad opening quarter and then taking the game apart in the middle two.

The Pistons scored 38 in the first quarter and led by 13. Across the second and third, they scored 25 combined. New York scored 63 in that stretch.

Karl-Anthony Towns did the heavy lifting with 27 points and 20 rebounds. Jalen Brunson added 23 points and 7 assists. The final was 111-97 at Madison Square Garden, and the Knicks move to 1-3.

How it was won

The first quarter went to Detroit, 38-25, and the 13-point margin was the Pistons' largest lead of the night.

The second quarter turned it. New York won it 26-12 and went to the break up 51-50.

The third quarter decided it. The Knicks won it 37-13 and led 88-63 going into the fourth. The lead reached 27 at its widest.

Detroit won the fourth 34-23, which made the final margin look closer than the game was.

The shooting percentages were identical: both teams shot 43 percent from the field. New York went 38-88 and Detroit went 37-87. The gaps were elsewhere.

• Threes: The Knicks made 12 of 36. Detroit made 9 of 37. That is a nine-point edge from beyond the arc.
• Free throws: New York went 23-28. Detroit went 14-24 and left 10 points at the line. That is another nine-point edge.
• Glass and passing: The Knicks out-rebounded Detroit 49-45 and had 28 assists to 23.

Detroit kept it competitive in two areas. The Pistons outscored New York 48-44 in the paint. They also forced 18 Knicks turnovers while committing 14.

Towns' 20 rebounds were the game's biggest individual number. OG Anunoby added 13 points and 7 rebounds but went 1-6 from three. Towns was 1-5 from deep, so most of his work came inside and at the line.

For Detroit, Paul Reed led with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Cade Cunningham had 19 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, but went 2-7 from three. Duncan Robinson scored 12 on 2-10 shooting from deep. As a team, the Pistons hit 9 of 37 threes, and that cost them the game.

Against the number

New York closed as a 4.5-point favorite. The 14-point win covered by 9.5.

The total closed at 220.5. The teams combined for 208, so the game went under by 12.5. Detroit's 25 points across the second and third quarters did most of that work.

On the moneyline, the Knicks closed at -175 and Detroit at +145. The market made New York a clear but not heavy favorite at home, even at 0-3.

Odds, closing lines and the full price history are on the game page.

What's next

The Knicks don't get a night off. They play the Bulls in Chicago on Wednesday, October 28, on League Pass. It is the second night of a back-to-back, and Towns played heavy minutes.

Before Tuesday, New York had lost three games by a combined 19 points: 106-100 to Philadelphia, 107-103 at Boston and 111-102 to Orlando. That is the context for this win. The question in Chicago is whether the second and third quarters can hold up for four.

Detroit falls to 3-1. The Pistons' next game was not part of the schedule information available for this recap.