Jalen Brunson took off the hero’s cape, and the Knicks remain winless in a playoff series at MSG for 26 years
The New York Knicks' agonizing wait for a home playoff series win, now stretching 9,454 days, grew heavier after a 106-103 loss to the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 on April 29, 2025, at Madison Square Garden. Star guard Jalen Brunson struggled, scoring 16 points on 4-for-16 shooting, including 1-for-4 from three and 7-for-10 from the free-throw line, with seven assists, four turnovers, and four fouls in 36 minutes. The Pistons, who've dominated the Knicks at MSG this season with four wins in five games, extended New York's 26-year close-out game drought. Since their last home series-clinching victory on June 11, 1999, against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals (90-82), the Knicks have gone 0-7 in close-out games at MSG, per Basketball-Reference. Honoring the late Dick Barnett, a Knicks icon, couldn't inspire a breakthrough. Detroit's Cade Cunningham dazzled […]