Jalen Brunson scored 34 points, Cam Payne had 11 of his 14 in the fourth quarter and the host New York Knicks stunned the Detroit Pistons with a 21-0 run in the final period to rally for a 123-112 victory Saturday night in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points and 11 rebounds in his first playoff game with the Knicks and OG Anunoby also scored 23 points for the No. 3-seeded Knicks. They will host Game 2 on Monday night.

The Pistons held up well for more than three quarters of their first playoff game since 2019 and had a 98-90 lead, a little more than nine minutes from ending their NBA-record, 14-game postseason losing streak.

By the time they scored again, the Knicks were ahead by 13 points, the delirious fans inside Madison Square Garden roaring louder with every Pistons miscue after they played with such poise for much of the game.

Payne converted a three-point play to start the run, Brunson scored and Payne made a 3-pointer to tie it at 98, and the onslaught would last for nearly five minutes. Payne and Brunson combined for the first 17 points before Josh Hart had the final two baskets to make it 111-98 with 4:50 remaining.

Tobias Harris scored 25 points for Detroit, but just three in the second half. Cade Cunningham had 21 points and 12 assists, but the Knicks limited the star guard to 8-for-21 shooting.

Pacers 117, Bucks 98: Pascal Siakam finished with 25 points and seven rebounds and Tyrese Haliburton added 10 points and 12 assists to lead host Indiana past Milwaukee for a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven first-round Eastern Conference series.

Indiana led by as much as 28 and fended off a charge that got the Bucks within 12 midway through the third quarter by holding the Bucks to only three points over the final 5:24. Myles Turner’s 3-pointer with 1:59 sealed the win. Turner had 19 points and four blocks.

Two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 36 points and 12 rebounds but the Pacers held him to just one assist in a rematch of last year’s opening round series, which Indiana won 4-2. Antetokounmpo missed all six of those games with a calf injury.

AJ Green scored 15 and the only other Bucks to reach double figures were Gary Trent Jr. with 14 and Kevin Porter Jr. with 12. Bucks All-Star guard Damian Lillard sat out as he continues to work his way back from deep vein thrombosis in his calf.

Cavs’ Atkinson wins NBCA coach of year award: Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson was announced Saturday as the winner of the National Basketball Coaches Association’s coach of the year award, after leading the Cavaliers to a 64-win season and the No. 1 seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The NBA will also give out a coach of the year award in the coming weeks. The NBCA has done its own separate award since 2017 named for Michael H. Goldberg, the organization’s first executive director. It is voted on by the league’s 30 head coaches.