Pistons snap NBA-record, 15-game postseason losing streak, beating Knicks 100-94 in Game 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Cade Cunningham wasn't thinking about himself after the first postseason victory of his career. His focus was on all the Detroit fans who stuck by the Pistons during 17 years since the last one.

Now Cunningham and his teammates want to give those fans more than just a game. They want to get them a series.

Cunningham had 33 points and 12 rebounds, Dennis Schroder made the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 55 seconds left, and the Pistons snapped their NBA-record, 15-game postseason losing streak by beating the New York Knicks 100-94 on Monday night in Game 2 of their playoff series.

“It’s a great feeling. It feels good to represent the city like we did tonight,” Cunningham said. “It’s something that the city been waiting on for a long time, so we feel good about it and we’re ready to get back to the crib and perform in front of them.”

The Pistons, who hadn’t even been to the postseason since 2019, recovered after the Knicks erased a 15-point deficit to earn their first playoff victory since Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference finals against Boston. The Celtics won the final two games of that series and the Pistons were then swept in 2009, 2016 and 2019 before dropping Game 1 at Madison Square Garden.

Now they are back in the win column, all tied in the series and will host Game 3 on Thursday night.

Schroder, who wasn’t even on the Pistons until a trade in February, nailed the 3-pointer after the Knicks had used a 16-4 run to tie it at 94 on Josh Hart’s dunk. He finished with 20 points off the bench.

The Pistons engineered one of the biggest turnarounds in NBA history this season, going 44-38 after a 14-win season in 2023-24 that included a 28-game losing streak, longest ever in a single season.

They were then in good shape to win Game 1 with an eight-point lead after three quarters, before the Knicks used a 21-0 run in the fourth to win 123-112. Detroit built another eight-point advantage after three Monday, and this time made the big plays after another Knicks rally.

“We got bigger things we’re out here for,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “So our focus, and that’s why our guys have been able to grow and be consistent, because they just think about the now and I thought they did a great job tonight of staying in the moment and doing what we needed to do.”

Jalen Brunson scored 37 points for the No. 3-seeded Knicks, but Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby were each limited to 10 after both finished with 23 points in the opener.

“And now it’s on us to respond,” Brunson said.

Cunningham bounced back with a strong performance after the All-Star guard was just 8 for 21 in Game 1. The Knicks struggled to keep him out of the paint and defend him without fouling, as the Pistons shot 14 free throws to the Knicks’ two while building a 55-49 lead at halftime.

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Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) catches a rebound during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, Monday, April 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Detroit Pistons guard Dennis Schroder, center, leaps to pass the ball during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, Monday, April 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) scores and knocks down New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Monday, April 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) looks for an opening against the Detroit Pistons during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Monday, April 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) reacts as he falls to the floor during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, Monday, April 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Detroit Pistons forwards Paul Reed, right, and Tobias Harris (12) race for a rebound ball during the first quarter of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, Monday, April 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, top left, loses the ball to Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) at the end of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Monday, April 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) drives toward the basket against New York Knicks' Mikal Bridges during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Monday, April 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) and forward Tobias Harris (12) high-five at the end of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, Monday, April 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — First responders on Sunday entered a contested neighborhood in Syria’ s northern city of Aleppo after days of deadly clashes between government forces and Kurdish-led forces. Syrian state media said the military was deployed in large numbers.

The clashes broke out Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid after the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main Kurdish-led force in the country, failed to make progress on how to merge the SDF into the national army. Security forces captured Achrafieh and Bani Zaid.

The fighting between the two sides was the most intense since the fall of then-President Bashar Assad to insurgents in December 2024. At least 23 people were killed in five days of clashes and more than 140,000 were displaced amid shelling and drone strikes.

The U.S.-backed SDF, which have played a key role in combating the Islamic State group in large swaths of eastern Syria, are the largest force yet to be absorbed into Syria's national army. Some of the factions that make up the army, however, were previously Turkish-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.

The Kurdish fighters have now evacuated from the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood to northeastern Syria, which is under the control of the SDF. However, they said in a statement they will continue to fight now that the wounded and civilians have been evacuated, in what they called a “partial ceasefire.”

The neighborhood appeared calm Sunday. The United Nations said it was trying to dispatch more convoys to the neighborhoods with food, fuel, blankets and other urgent supplies.

Government security forces brought journalists to tour the devastated area, showing them the damaged Khalid al-Fajer Hospital and a military position belonging to the SDF’s security forces that government forces had targeted.

The SDF statement accused the government of targeting the hospital “dozens of times” before patients were evacuated. Damascus accused the Kurdish-led group of using the hospital and other civilian facilities as military positions.

On one street, Syrian Red Crescent first responders spoke to a resident surrounded by charred cars and badly damaged residential buildings.

Some residents told The Associated Press that SDF forces did not allow their cars through checkpoints to leave.

“We lived a night of horror. I still cannot believe that I am right here standing on my own two feet,” said Ahmad Shaikho. “So far the situation has been calm. There hasn’t been any gunfire.”

Syrian Civil Defense first responders have been disarming improvised mines that they say were left by the Kurdish forces as booby traps.

Residents who fled are not being allowed back into the neighborhood until all the mines are cleared. Some were reminded of the displacement during Syria’s long civil war.

“I want to go back to my home, I beg you,” said Hoda Alnasiri.

Associated Press journalist Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

Sandbag barriers used as fighting positions by Kurdish fighters, left inside a destroyed mosque in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Burned vehicles at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

People flee the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

A Syrian military police convoy enters the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Burned vehicles and ammunitions left at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)