Brunson nets 40, Knicks drop Pistons in Game 6 to advance to 2nd round

NBA PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP

Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) drives to the basket against Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) during the first half of Game 6 of Thursday’s first-round playoff series in Detroit. DUANE BURLESON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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DETROIT >> Jalen Brunson scored 40 points, Mikal Bridges had 25 points and OG Anunoby added 22 to lead the New York Knicks to a 116-113 win over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night and into the second round of the NBA playoffs.

The third-seeded Knicks will face second-seeded Boston, shooting to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000.

The sixth-seeded Pistons had an unprecedented turnaround during the regular season and ended the NBA’s longest playoff losing streak in their first postseason appearance since 2019, but broke another league mark with a 10th straight setback at home dating to 2008.

Suns promote Gregory to GM >> The Phoenix Suns promoted Brian Gregory to general manager as part of a front office shakeup following one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history.

The team also said that former general manager James Jones will transition to the role of senior advisor. Oronde Taliaferro was promoted to assistant general manager and Paul Rivers will add basketball operations responsibilities to his role as chief innovation officer.

Celtics’ Holiday wins NBA’s sportsmanship award >> Jrue Holiday of the Boston Celtics has won the NBA’s sportsmanship award for the second time, making him the fifth player in league history to win that trophy in multiple years.

Holiday received about 34% of the first-place votes cast by nearly 400 current NBA players to decide the award winner.

Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen finished second, Dallas’ Kyrie Irving was third, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was fourth, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Dorian Finney-Smith was fifth and Orlando’s Franz Wagner was sixth.

Kings hire Christie >> The Sacramento Kings announced they have hired Doug Christie as their full-time head coach following an interim stint that ended with a loss in the play-in tournament.

The Kings announced the hiring in the first major decision made since Scott Perry was hired after the season as general manager. Christie will be formally introduced at a news conference on Friday.