DETROIT — Nothing was settled. 

The Knicks had a chance to clinch the third seed Thursday and essentially lock in Detroit as a first-round opponent.

Instead, they played it safe with rest days and minutes restrictions and were overwhelmed down the stretch Thursday by the scrappy Pistons, 115-106. 

It wasn’t a good omen for a potential playoff preview that the Knicks were the softer side in the final minutes. 

“They just out-toughed us. They did. The whole fourth quarter,” said PJ Tucker, the veteran who received rotation minutes for the first time this season. “We kept it close but they just out-toughed us. That’s something we got to address. Obviously, not having OG [Anunoby], not having Josh [Hart], getting those guys back will help a lot. 

“I just feel like down in the trenches like that in the playoffs this year, they’re not calling nothing. They’re letting a lot of stuff go right now and I like it. The refs are letting a lot of stuff go both ways. With that happening, guys got to play differently. We got to play different. We got to toughen up. It’s more physical. We got to toughen up.”

The Knicks (50-30) still need either a win or a Pacers defeat to secure No. 3 in the East.

Assuming that happens — the Knicks finish the season against the Cavaliers on Friday and the Nets on Sunday — the Pistons are still the most likely Round 1 opponent.

But because it beat the Knicks at Little Caesars Arena, Detroit can still jump up a spot by winning its final two games, both against Milwaukee.

That would leave the Bucks as the Knicks’ first-round opponent. 

“We have two games to finish the regular season,” Jalen Brunson said. “Focus on Cleveland [Friday] and go from there. Just control what we can control.”

Contrary to Tom Thibodeau’s reputation, the Knicks weren’t fully invested in winning Thursday.

They sat two starters — Anunoby and Hart — on the first night of a back-to-back, with Mitchell Robinson also shelved. 

Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were clearly operating under restrictions — though Thibodeau denied it — as both totaled under 30 minutes apiece.

They came up short down the stretch, with the Pistons going on a 9-0 run in the middle of the fourth quarter to take control. 

Towns committed seven turnovers, including four in the fourth quarter. Brunson was scoreless in the final period.

Pistons star Cade Cunningham again torched the Knicks with 36 points. 

“Got to close out the second half better,” Brunson said. “I mean, long story short, they played really well, they played really physical. And they played for 48 minutes. 

“Tonight, I don’t think we played for a full 48 minutes. That’s my take on it.”

The Pistons (44-36) punctuated the victory with a Jalen Duren alley-oop jam with seven seconds left and a seven-point lead.

The garbage-time maneuver — which occurred with Towns behind Duren — was a little excessive. 

“I wasn’t feeling that too much,” said Tucker, who was also near the play. “We were still chasing and playing defense so I wasn’t too mad. 

“But I wish I was where KAT was when that happened.” 

Thibodeau took a hard detour with his rotation, giving Tucker heavy minutes for the first time this season.

At one point in the second quarter, the Knicks produced a lineup with Tucker, Cam Payne, Landry Shamet and Delon Wright. 

Despite their lack of experience playing together, the Knicks reserves held their own — even building a double-digit lead in the opening half. 

But the starters blew it in the fourth quarter.

“First half, played pretty good,” Thibodeau said. “Third quarter, got up 13, and then I thought our turnovers really hurt us.”