Jalen Brunson scored 40 points, Mikal Bridges had 25 points and OG Anunoby added 22 to lead the visiting 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.

Detroit’s Cade Cunningham had 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Cunningham was 0 for 8 on 3-pointers and his backcourt mate Tim Hardaway Jr. was 1 of 6 beyond the arc and scored seven points.

Timberwolves 103, Lakers 96: Rudy Gobert had playoff career highs with 27 points and 24 rebounds, Julius Randle added 23 points and visiting Minnesota advanced in the NBA playoffs with a victory over Los Angeles in Game 5 of their first-round series Wednesday night.

Anthony Edwards had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the sixth-seeded Wolves, who won three straight games to eliminate LeBron James and Luka Doncic from their first postseason together.

The Timberwolves next face the winner of Houston’s series with the Warriors. The Rockets avoided elimination Wednesday, and Game 6 is tonight with the Warriors leading 3-2.

Doncic had 28 points and nine assists, while James added 22 points for the Lakers, who lost in the first round for the second straight postseason despite reconfiguring their roster at midseason with their seismic trade for Doncic.

Kings hire Christie as full-time head coach: 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 on Thursday 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 today.

“I’ve known Doug a long time and have been impressed with his leadership, presence, and ability to connect deeply with his players,” Perry said in a statement. “He embodies the core values we believe in — toughness, discipline, professionalism, a defensive mindset, and a selfless, team-oriented approach on offense. Our goal is to support him fully and help set the stage for his long-term success. We’re excited to move forward with Doug as our leader.”

Christie took over the Kings after Mike Brown was fired in late December and posted a 27-24 record in his interim stint.

Christie had previously played for the Kings and served as both an assistant coach and announcer.

“I am deeply humbled to be named head coach of the Sacramento Kings,” he said. “This organization and city have been home for over 20 years. I want to thank the Kings organization and Scott for their support during this process. For me, this opportunity is all about service to the team, the organization, and the city of Sacramento. My family and I couldn’t be more excited for this new chapter.”