The New York Knicks were able to narrowly escape with a win against the team with the worst record in the NBA, the Detroit Pistons, 113-111. In the win, they learned a valuable lesson.

The Knicks were a big favorite on Monday night against the bottom-feeding Pistons. While the Knicks aren’t at full strength, their current roster is certainly good enough to handle Detroit with ease.

However, the Pistons came to play against the Knicks and never laid down in the game. For New York, this was a bit of a trap game after playing the best team in the NBA, the Boston Celtics, on National Television on Saturday night.

In the win, the Knicks certainly had a little bit of lady luck on their side. At the end of the game, the refs missed a clear foul on Donte DiVincenzo, who tackled Ausar Thompson of the Pistons. The Knicks ended up getting the ball in the scrum, and Josh Hart came up clutch with what ended up being the game-winning layup.

While the Knicks did have some great performances from their Villanova trio, this game shouldn’t have been as close as it was, and the Knicks are lucky to have avoided the brutal loss. For a team that now has not only playoff expectations, but the expectations to compete in the Eastern Conference, they have to be ready every single night for teams who will be looking to make a statement.

Cade Cunningham of the Pistons was fantastic in the game, as he shined at MSG. In the loss, Cunningham totaled 32 points, eight assists, five rebounds, and two blocks. Even though the Pistons are bad this season, Cunningham is a building block for the franchise for years to come and showed an ability to keep his team in the game.

Moving forward, this game was a good lesson for the Knicks. Fortunately, this lesson was also learned in a win. New York has to know that they need to be ready every night, as opponents are going to be looking to give them their best shot due to the success of the team this season.