Game 1 was a test of nerve. For three quarters, Detroit refused to blink. The Knicks fell behind by as many as nine. Then the fourth quarter hit — and with it, the kind of avalanche only a veteran playoff team can summon. The Knicks unleashed a 21-0 run that flipped the game, the momentum, and the mood in the building all at once.

If ever there was a 51-win, third-seeded playoff team that could be considered a disappointment, the New York Knicks would be it. After seismic trades for Karl-Anthony Towns and M

Jalen Brunson scored 34 points, Cam Payne had 11 of his 14 in the fourth quarter and the New York Knicks stunned the Detroit Pistons with a 21-0 run in the final period to rally for a 123-112 victory on Saturday night in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.