The arena was different, but for the Knicks, the result was all too familiar. The Knicks were again outclassed by the NBA-best Pistons — this time at Madison Square Garden — in a 126-111 loss on Thursday night as Detroit completed a decisive regular-season sweep. Do-it-all Detroit superstar Cade Cunningham erupted for 42 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists, bolstering his standing as an MVP candidate. “They played great against us,” Knicks star Jalen Brunson said. “I think today was, obviously, not as bad as the first two. But, I mean, just not up to our standards.” Indeed, the Knicks lost by 31 and 38 points in their previous two meetings with the Pistons, both in Detroit. But the Pistons (41-13) on Thursday were without their top two centers in Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, who were serving suspensions for their roles in last week’s brawl in Charlotte. The Knicks (35-21) failed to take advantage, as the Pistons — relying on third-string center Paul Reed and two-way player Tolu Smith behind him — outscored them in the paint, 58-56, and won the rebounding battle, 44-38. All-Star Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns managed only two points on 1-of-3 shooting in the first half, after which the Pistons led, 58-48. “Our offense is our offense,” Towns said. “It’s been that way all year. So we have our system and we’re gonna — regardless of who’s in the game or not in the game — we run the system that we have implemented for our team to the best of our abilities.” Towns got going in the second half, scoring 12 points in the third quarter and finishing the game with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 11 rebounds. But that wasn’t enough for the Knicks to overcome an ice-cold shooting night in which they went just 8-of-35 on 3-pointers. After Brunson drilled a 3-pointer on the game’s opening possession, the Knicks missed 15 in a row. “I thought we had some wide-open looks that normally go in,” head coach Mike Brown said. “And they didn’t tonight.” Built defensively to stop elite wings, the Knicks had no answer for Cunningham, who scored 14 points in the first quarter, 24 in the first half, and nailed a dagger 3-pointer with less than five minutes remaining. It was an overall tough night for OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, who finished with eight points apiece. Bridges did not play the final 9:31 of the fourth quarter as Brown rode with Landry Shamet. “Landry had hit a couple shots,” Brown said. “We needed to score. They’re both really good defenders. And so I just stayed with Landry. But it wasn’t anything where, ‘Oh, I’m going to sit Mikal because he’s not doing this, or he’s not doing that.’ ” Newly signed Jeremy Sochan remained behind rookie Mohamed Diawara in his Knicks debut, playing 10 minutes and finishing with two points, an assist and a block. Brunson led the Knicks with 33 points on 12-of-20 shooting to go with six rebounds and eight assists. “Nobody wants to lose, and everybody is disappointed,” Brown said. “And I’m sure everybody is trying to figure out how they could’ve played better to help the team win. So it’s not a fun feeling. It shouldn’t be a fun feeling for me or anybody else in that locker room. “But, for sure, it’s not the end of the world. We’ve got to regroup, watch the film to see how to get better and get the next one.” After finishing 0-3 against Detroit, the Knicks can take some solace knowing they went 1-3 against the Pistons last regular season before defeating them in their first-round playoff series. The Knicks beat the Pistons in six games in that series, but Detroit — then a young, physical team ahead of schedule in its rebuild — held its own. Three of the Knicks’ wins were by three points or fewer. Detroit has taken another big leap this year, now boasting a seven-game lead over the Knicks in the Eastern Conference standings. “They’ve played well against us, and they beat us fair and square every time,” Towns said. “Tonight, obviously, was a better showing than the first two, but there’s no moral victories, nor was it what New York wants to see. But we got a lot of film, and [if] we’re seeing each other in the playoffs, we’ve got to be ready.” ...read more read less