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Cade Cunningham’s message was simple.
“We’ll be back,” he said after the Knicks’ 106-103 Game 5 loss to the Pistons Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Tuesday’s win kept the Pistons — who are now down 3-2 — alive for the series. And their stars are bullish on their chances to win Game 6 and return to New York for a Game 7.
“Very confident,” Tim Hardaway Jr. said.
Ausar Thompson said the same thing.
Cade Cunningham, who scored a game-high 24 points, drives on Mikal Bridges during the Knicks’ 106-103 Game 5 win over the Pistons on April 29, 2025. Jason Szenes / New York PostIf the Pistons can win Game 6 on Thursday and return to New York, they should like their chances in a Game 7.
They have owned Madison Square Garden throughout the year with a 4-1 record at the arena between the regular season and playoffs.
Cade Cunningham shoots over Karl-Anthony Towns during the Knicks’ Game 5 loss to the Pistons. NBAE via Getty ImagesTheir only two wins of the series have come at the Mecca.
“Knowing that it’s gonna be a hostile environment, knowing that it’s gonna be a tough win, and everybody being locked in,” Cunningham said of Madison Square Garden. “When our backs are against the wall, we’re better. We play better, we’re more together. I think tonight was an example of that, and now we gotta apply that to the crib.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the Knicks in the 2025 NBA Playoffs
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“It’s everything you dream of. Playing with a full arena, a bunch of people booing you, that’s everything you dream of.”
In the regular season, the Pistons had the same exact 22-19 record at home and on the road.
“Our guys, as crazy as it sounds, they feed off of it,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of playing on the road. “They feed off the energy of the opponent’s crowd, talking s–t, making noise. They embrace the chaos and they’re comfortable there. Not everybody is that way. Some people need the support of their home crowd and all sorts of things. But our guys embrace the chaos and they’re extremely comfortable, [that’s where] they play their best.”
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