NEW YORK — When Ausar Thompson heard the question after the Detroit Pistons’ Game 1 loss to the New York Knicks, it almost looked as if he felt offended.
Thompson drew the assignment on Jalen Brunson to start the series and has maintained that assignment since. Brunson was coming off a 34-point Game 1 on 44.4 percent shooting. Thompson was asked what challenges come with guarding Brunson.
The 22-year-old wing nearly rolled his eyes before answering, “None.”
Asked Ausar Thompson what challenges he’s had guarding Jalen Brunson so far:
“None.” pic.twitter.com/mbxbs1HLlf
— Hunter Patterson (@HuntPatterson_) April 20, 2025
Thompson’s confidence to respond that way in the moment was the same confidence on display, on both sides of the ball, in the Pistons’ 106-103 Game 5 win over the Knicks on Tuesday. He scored a season-high 22 points on 8-of-10 from the field, seven rebounds and two blocks.
This was undoubtedly the best playoff game of Thompson’s young, promising career. Thompson was the best, most athletic and decisive version of himself we’ve seen this postseason. He was as responsible for this Game 5, win-or-go-home victory as any player on Detroit’s roster.
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If Thompson and the Pistons have any hope of returning to what would be an electric Madison Square Garden for a Game 7, Thompson must replicate his level of play in Game 6. Although he made only half of them, his 12 free-throw attempts were a new career best and an indication of how much pressure he put on New York’s defense at the rim.
“He was the X-factor for us tonight in getting going and playing great,” Tobias Harris said of Thompson during his postgame availability. “He’s such a humble guy. He’s always the first one in the locker room after a game to pull up the film on the phone to see ways that he can get better.
“So for him to have that type of performance tonight, I’m extremely happy for him and excited as well.”
Harris added 17 points, trailing only Thompson and Cade Cunningham’s game-high 24 points.
As for Thompson, he was Brunson’s primary defender in Game 5, as he has been for the majority of his time on the floor this series. He limited Brunson to 16 points on 4-of-16 shooting and 1-of-4 from 3-point range, seven assists, three rebounds and four turnovers.
It was Brunson’s lowest scoring game of this series on his worst efficiency, and 7 of his 16 points came at the free-throw line. Brunson shot 1-of-8 when guarded by Thompson, whose defensive elusiveness and 7-foot wingspan seemed to bother the 6-foot-2 guard.
Brunson’s lone field goal on Thompson came with 6:53 left during the fourth quarter.
Not only was this Brunson’s worst field-goal percentage of the series, it was his second-worst shooting night of the regular season as well. The only game Brunson has had a worse shooting night during the playoffs or regular season came on Nov. 17, 2024, when the Knicks beat the Brooklyn Nets, when Brunson shot a season-worst 3-of-14 for 21.4 percent from the field and 0-of-5 from long range.
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“It all started with Ausar and his defense,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the win. “He was phenomenal defensively tonight. Offensively, obviously, to come up with the 22 points, but I think it started with his defense. And a lot of credit should be given to him.”
As phenomenal as Thompson was on Brunson and defensively as a whole, he was equally effective with the ball in his hands. His 22 points were the most he’s scored since a Jan. 20, 2024, loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. But it was the work Thompson was doing before even receiving the ball that set him up for success.
Aside from a transition lob, each of Thompson’s points came at the dunker spot. And seven of his eight field goals were dunks.
Thompson has had a knack, all season long, of sneaking behind the opponents’ back line of defenders to find open spaces in the defense. He did so consistently Tuesday night and New York had no answer for him. It’s an intuitive skill Thompson has been developing for some time.
Game 5 was the summation of his work in the dunker spot with his instinctive cutting.
“(I’m) just reading the ball and reading where Cade is,” Thompson said from the postgame podium. “You know, my teammates help me out a lot, especially (Jalen Duren) and Cade.”
Thompson was spot on in his assessment of who was assisting him in Game 5. Three of his field goals were assisted by Cunningham and three came by way of Duren. Harris assisted a Thompson dunk, as did Tim Hardaway Jr. Thompson makes life easier for his teammates on the offensive end when he plays with this level of aggression.
His ability to find gaps in the defense time and time again makes it easier for Cunningham to accept the inevitable double teams the Knicks have been sending his way all series.
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“It’s fun seeing us move the ball around to get dunks, get layups,” Cunningham said as he stood at his locker in a red, white and blue Pelle Pelle jacket. “Having an efficient offense, that’s what you want as a coach, a team, a point guard. That’s everything you dream of, having an efficient offense.
“Tonight, I thought we did a great job. (Duren) was amazing in the pocket, making plays and everybody else playing around him. … Having (Thompson) cutting and roaming, he plays above the rim better than anybody.”
CADE IN THE BUILDING 😤
🆚 Pistons-Knicks | NYK leads 3-1
⏰ 7:30pm/et on TNT pic.twitter.com/LdrZbUr0TO— NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2025
Each of Duren’s three assists to Thompson came after he caught the ball on the short roll. The vision and execution Duren possesses to find Thompson mid-stride is a coveted skill for a 6-10 center. Duren tacked on nine points, a game-high 14 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Cunningham was the only Piston to have more assists than Duren on Tuesday.
Thompson and the Pistons stepped up to the metaphorical plate, under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, in their first win-or-go-home scenario, after back-to-back controversial losses. Detroit heads home with momentum and a 3-2 series requiring two more wins for it to advance.
The Pistons will be back home in front of what should be just over 20,000 fans at Little Caesars Arena for Game 6 on Thursday. Thompson, along with the rest of the group, feels indebted to their supporters.
“I’m super excited,” Thompson said of going back for Game 6 in Detroit. “We’ve got to get them a win. We’ve got to get our fans a win, for sure.”
(Photo of Ausar Thompson and Cade Cunningham: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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