Daily Report – 2/20/26
It’s been a looooooong week without New York sports, but we’re back! Back in the New York groove!
Knicks
The Knicks didn’t receive much of a homecoming celebration yesterday, as they returned from the All-Star Break to face the NBA-leading Detroit Pistons. The Knicks couldn’t stop Cade Cunningham, and with a 126-111 loss, they lost their third of three regular-season games against Detroit this season.
Primarily matched up against OG Anunoby, who had missed four games before the All-Star Break with a toenail avulsion, Cunningham erupted for 42 points and 13 assists, including 11 straight points in a difficult third quarter for New York. After Detroit ended the first half with a 9-2 run, they went on a 28-19 run to end the third quarter. By then, the game was all but over for the Knicks.
Despite playing with energy and speed, Anunoby was limited to eight points in 32 minutes. He wasn’t the only Knick who struggled to defend against Cunningham. Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and Karl-Anthony Towns couldn’t box him out, either. The only player who made any sort of impact was Jeremy Sochan, who played nine minutes off the bench in his Knicks debut.
“[Cunningham] can do a lot for a guy his size, and he puts teams in predicaments with the stuff that he’s doing,” said head coach Mike Brown. “You’re putting a small forward on him most of the time. The small forward isn’t used to navigating the stuff that he does on the floor.”
The Knicks also struggled to convert on three-point shots throughout the game, and they finished with eight triples, five fewer than the Pistons. “We did a great job of generating some wide-open looks, especially from the three-point line,” Brown said. “They just didn’t go in tonight.”
Landry Shamet was responsible for three of the Knicks’ eight triples, although they finished the first half 1-for-16 from deep. Three minutes into the third quarter, after entering halftime down by 10, the Knicks cut the deficit to two points, thanks, in part, to a three-point shot by Towns, the Knicks’ second of the game. Towns only scored two points in the first half, but he scored 12 in the third quarter.
However, Detroit quickly shut the Knicks’ second-best scorer down after his brief third-quarter moment in the spotlight. While Cunningham imposed his will left and right on the Garden court, Towns was invisible, on both sides of the ball, for most of the game. His soft play and poor pace helped Detroit further exert its dominance.
The Pistons believe they should have won their first-round playoff series against the Knicks last year, and their bitterness motivates their style of play. Currently, their 41-13 record is the best in the NBA, and they are enjoying the season the Knicks expected to have.
This was supposed to be the most anticipated Knicks season in over 30 years. The Knicks were supposed to be the Eastern Conference leaders and ride their home-court advantage to and through the NBA Finals. However, in each of their three matchups, the Pistons have exposed every Knicks weakness. It doesn’t feel like New York has what it takes to reach the promised land.
“We wanted to try to keep the ball off the middle of the floor, and we didn’t do a good job of it,” Brown said. “We allowed [Cunningham] to get to the middle of the floor often, and when he got to the middle of the floor, he hurt us. So, we have to do a better job of trying to keep the ball on the sidelines and not allowing it to get to the middle of the floor.
“And even in pick-and-roll situations, just making sure that we’re defending the pick-and-roll the right way. He got loose in that pick-and-roll, especially in the first half, and we just didn’t do a good job with it.”
Part of the problem with the Knicks’ offensive strategy was their inability to use their size and strength to generate interior scoring space, especially when the Pistons were without Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, two of their biggest forwards. When the Knicks realized their three-point shots weren’t falling, they should have shifted to a more aggressive scheme.
However, Detroit still managed to dominate off the post. Despite missing two big men, they earned a 10-point advantage in second-chance scoring. Meanwhile, the Knicks didn’t just struggle to defend the pick-and-roll; they couldn’t establish their own. Part of the problem was Towns, all too characteristically, refusing to demonstrate enough offensive physicality.
“I mean, our offense is our offense. It’s been that way all year,” Towns said, dejected.
Earlier this season, Towns admitted that he had struggled to adapt to Brown’s system, but it’s February now. If Towns hasn’t adjusted yet, then he probably never will. Nevertheless, when asked about Towns, Brown said, “He’s comfortable.”
Coach Brown, you’ve got it all wrong. It’s the Pistons players who are comfortable. They came into your building and tormented your team for the third time this season. Towns, meanwhile, is as “comfortable” as a broken leg.
While the Pistons thrive in the face of adversity, the Knicks seem to struggle. Because of their success against Detroit last year and their consistent playoff success throughout the last few seasons, they seem to feel a sense of entitlement whenever they play Detroit.
Entitlement that sounds like this: “Playoffs is a whole different ballgame. […] When it counts, that’s when it matters.”
Who said that, you ask? Jose Alvarado. This team’s sense of entitlement must be contagious. Alvarado got here two weeks ago, and he has already fallen victim to it.
Every game matters to the Pistons. Why shouldn’t every game matter to the Knicks? Clearly, the Pistons want to win more than the Knicks. They seem to be fueled by an insatiable level of resentment that can only be quelled with a playoff series win over New York and the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.
Here’s what Mike Brown had to say about that: “It’s not the end of the world.”
Oh goodness. Brown has not won anything yet! This mindset is not going to cut it in the postseason.
Schedule
Tonight 2/20:
7:00 PM (6:00 PM CST): Yankees Hot Stove; YES, Gotham Sports
7:30 PM (6:30 PM CST): The Olympic Zone; WNBC
8:00 PM (7:00 PM CST): The Games of the XXV Winter Olympiad (Milano Cortina) – Primetime in Milan – Speed Skating, Short Track Speed Skating, Freestyle Skiing; NBC, Peacock
11:35 PM (10:35 PM CST): The Games of the XXV Winter Olympiad (Milano Cortina) – Olympic Late Night; NBC, Peacock
Saturday 2/21:
10:00 AM (9:00 AM CST): The Games of the XXV Winter Olympiad (Milano Cortina) – Speed Skating; NBC, Peacock
11:30 AM (10:30 AM CST): The Games of the XXV Winter Olympiad (Milano Cortina) – Cross-Country Skiing; NBC, Peacock
1:05 PM (12:05 PM CST): 2026 Grapefruit League Baseball – NYY vs. DET; YES, Gotham Sports
1:05 PM (12:05 PM CST): The Games of the XXV Winter Olympiad (Milano Cortina) – Men’s Curling, Gold Medal Game: Great Britain vs. Canada; CNBC, Peacock
1:30 PM (12:30 PM CST): The Games of the XXV Winter Olympiad (Milano Cortina) – Women’s Freeski Halfpipe Final; NBC, Peacock
2:40 PM (1:40 PM CST): The Games of the XXV Winter Olympiad (Milano Cortina) – Men’s Hockey, Bronze Medal Match: Slovakia vs. Finland; USA, Peacock
2:55 PM (1:55 PM CST): The Games of the XXV Winter Olympiad (Milano Cortina) – Figure Skating Exhibition Gala; NBC, Peacock
7:30 PM (6:30 PM CST): The Olympic Zone; WNBC
8:00 PM (7:00 PM CST): The Games of the XXV Winter Olympiad (Milano Cortina) – Primetime in Milan – Speed Skating, Bobsled, Freestyle Skiing, Figure Skating; NBC, Peacock
8:30 PM (7:30 PM CST): NBA Primetime Saturday Night – NYK vs. HOU; ABC, ESPN App
11:35 PM (10:35 PM CST): The Games of the XXV Winter Olympiad (Milano Cortina) – Olympic Late Night; NBC, Peacock
Sunday 2/22:
7:00 AM (6:00 AM CST): The Games of the XXV Winter Olympiad (Milano Cortina) – Women’s Curling, Gold Medal Game: Teams TBA; NBC, Peacock
8:10 AM (7:10 AM CST): The Games of the XXV Winter Olympiad (Milano Cortina) – Men’s Hockey, Gold Medal Match: USA vs. Canada; NBC, Peacock
7:45 AM (6:45 AM CST): Hockey Preview; NBC, Peacock
11:45 AM (10:45 AM CST): The Games of the XXV Winter Olympiad (Milano Cortina) – Cross-Country Skiing; NBC, Peacock
1:05 PM (12:05 PM CST): 2026 Grapefruit League Baseball – NYY at NYM; YES, Gotham Sports
2:30 PM (1:30 PM CST): The Games of the XXV Winter Olympiad (Milano Cortina) – Closing Ceremony; NBC, Peacock
8:00 PM (7:00 PM CST): NYK at CHI; MSG, Gotham Sports
