NEW YORK - Star Floor General Jalen Brunson brings the magic late into the game in the first round of the hard-working first-round series between the Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks.

Brunson is the league's clutch player of the year, winning games 1, 3 and 4, with an average of 13 points per fourth quarter, which is the highest playoff average score for any NBA player since the start of the game since 1996-97.

All of this makes Brunson next to the scorer's table, as precious time is ticked at the end of the Knicks' narrow Game 5 (106-103) at the end of Madison Square Garden.

Detroit thwarted the Knicks’ hopes of ending the series Tuesday night in lateness, instead drawing a game 3-2, pushing things back to the six games Thursday night.

The club benefited from the dilemma facing the Knicks as how to get their two starters back into the game after quitting after an injury.

The Pistons were in offensive form when Brunson tried to guard Detroit star Cade Cunningham to adjust his come-on ankle, which sometimes has been haunting him since an injury late in the late season of a month.

The next game, Knicks big Karl-Anthony Towns immediately tucked the garden crowd into tizzy, playing a third, and after knotting a three-pointer at 95, a sky-high Josh Hart fell down his back while defending Cunningham’s layup. Pistons center Jalen Duren put a basket back to put Detroit 97-95.

Both Brunson and Hart were forced to be eliminated soon, with a 2:57 match. Hart entered the guts of the arena and briefly checked, while Brunson was still on the Knicks' sideline, giving himself a moment of recovery.

Each of them started to head towards the scorer's table, ready to back down, with less than two minutes left, and Pistons 101-95 in front of the Pistons. But with the Knicks only one timeout left - and having committed enough fouls to send Detroit to the game with anyone else - coach Tom Thibodeau chose to oppose the use of either of these strategies to get two of his starters back into the game.

So the clock bleeds for a minute and a half until 27 seconds, and the piston goes up 103-97.

"It's tough," Brunson admitted. He said he still has confidence and belief in his teammates regardless of the outcome.

Thibodeau suggested that he was reluctant to burn his last timeout or send the pistons into the game twice at that stage of the game.

"That's exactly where we are with the pause - it's the coach's decision," he said. He pointed out a lot of considerations as time went by, when he took into account everything he was thinking about. "Time. Score. Fine. All of the above. There are a lot of them."

The defeat left the Knicks without a tie-in victory in the garden since the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals beat the Indiana Pacers at home.

It should be clear that this is not just the disease and decisions in the field, but these diseases and decisions bring into the Pistons' victory. They made a huge contribution from sophomore forward Ausar Thompson, who has repeatedly proven to be Detroit’s best defender at Brunson, but is often inconsistent on offense - and too foul on defense - to play late in the game, high-end moments.

Thompson scored much less Tuesday, scoring 22 points in just 29 minutes and only 10 shots - allowing Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff to use him instead of the smaller Dennis Schroder, against Brunson.

So Brunson has so far his worst game in the series, with only 16 points. He scored 30 points or more in each of his first four games against Detroit. And, for the first time in all series, it was the explosive fourth quarter of the All-NBA performers.

"It all started with Australia and his defense. He was excellent on defense tonight. He should give him a lot of credit to praise," Bickstaff said.

“He’s a great defender and he’s able to pick up everything (he does) the way he’s doing it,” Brunson said of Thompson’s sophomore. “Personal and as a team, we need to figure out how to fight that.”

Cunningham is late for the Pistons. He scored a team-high 24 points, earning eight boards and eight assists. There were 20 points in the second half that appeared in the fourth stage.

Even if the Knicks’ suspicious choice not to burn timeout or foul to get Brunson and Hart back into the game, New York still has a chance.

Mikal Bridges hit a three-pointer with a score of 103-97, reducing the deficit in half with a 25-second game. After Schroeder's free throw raised the edge of Detroit to 104-100, OG Anunoby hit another guy who brought New York into New York, keeping the Knicks alive.

The Pistons almost threw the ball away on the subsequent inbound pass, and Brunson deflected the ball. But Detroit resumed loose balls and Canning arranged two free throws to give his club a three-point lead.

When Deuce McBride was deliberately fouled by the Pistons to deny that he had a chance to hit three games, the Knicks actually ran out because he missed his first attempt and stumbled. He was then forced to miss the second inning, but the clock expired as New York tried to secure the rebounding time.