NEW YORK -- Cade Cunningham stole the ball near the Knicks’ 3-point line and was off to the races. The Detroit Pistons guard raced upcourt, dribbled behind his back and past his defender and threw down a one-handed tomahawk dunk on the other end. The play came midway through the third period and put the visiting Pistons up by 13 points in a game they won 100-94 at Madison Square Garden. It was the Pistons’ first playoff victory since 2008. Facing a range of Knicks’ defenders, Cunningham finished with 33 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists as the Pistons evened the series at 1-1 heading into Game 3 Thursday night in Detroit. He was 10-of-12 from the line. Dennis Schroder hit a clutch 3-pointer to break a 94-all tie and give the Pistons a 97-94 lead and Mikal Bridges missed a potential game-tying 3 with 11 seconds left. “You gotta find a way to win at the end,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. The Pistons overcame a 37-point, 7-assist, 3-rebound night from Jalen Brunson, who heard “MVP” chants from the crowd. Brunson missed a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left that would have cut the lead to one point. It was a dramatic turnaround from Game 1 when the Knicks’ defense held Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick in 2021 out of Oklahoma State, to 8-for-21 shooting in his playoff debut. “He’s such a dynamic player, there’s times you can defend him perfectly, and he still has the ability to make a shot or make a play,” Thibodeau said pre-game. “And so you have to have the wherewithal to continue to do it throughout 48 minutes with the understanding he can make tough plays. He’s a great player. “And the idea is you have to try to make him work as much as you can, and then everyone’s got to be working together, because anytime you put two on him, you’ve got to protect paint and then react out, cover the three-point line and challenge the shot and then get back to a body to rebound. So that requires everyone putting a lot of work into it.” With this loss, the Knicks blew a chance to take a commanding lead in the series. Teams leading 2-0 in NBA playoff series win 93% of the time, according to landofbasketball.com. In the first round, it’s closer to 94%. Tobias Harris, the Long Island native, added 15 points and 13 rebounds for Detroit, while Schroder scored 20. Jalen Duren went for 12 points and 13 boards, including two free throws in the final seconds. The Knicks threw Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart at Cunningham after Anunoby had defended him the best in Game 1. Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff said pre-game that Cunningham’s teammates had to do a better job of getting open when he is double-teamed. “Our guys have to make sure they create an earlier window for him so that he can make those outlets,” he said. The free throw shooting disparity was also striking. Detroit shot 13-of-14 from the line en route to taking a 55-49 halftime lead. They shot 28-of-34 from the line on the light. The Knicks were 16-of-19. “Obviously, huge discrepancy in free throws,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Huge, so I gotta take a look at it. I really don’t give a crap how they call the game, but it’s gotta be the same on both sides.” The Pistons out-rebounded the Knicks, 48-34. “The rebounding was probably the difference in the game,” Thibodeau said. The Pistons bench also dominated the Knicks, 35-8. Bridges scored 19 in the loss and Karl-Anthony Towns was held to 10 points and 6 boards. Now the Knicks must win Game 3 in Detroit or risk falling behind 2-1. “Whether you win or lose, you reset,” Thibodeau said. “Get ready for the next one.” Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription. Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter and Basketball Insider for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.