It wasn't easy, but the Knicks exploded with a 21-0 run in the fourth quarter to set off the first Garden party of the spring with a 123-112 win over the Pistons in Game 1.

Jalen Brunson scored 23 of his game-high 34 in the second half and Cam Payne made a massive contribution in the fourth, but the Knicks' defense -- led by OG Anunoby (five steals) and Karl-Anthony Towns (four) -- turned the game on its head after the Knicks trailed by as many as nine in the third.

Anunoby led the stifling of All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham, who was 8-for-21 from the floor and committed six of Detroit's 21 turnovers.

Game 2 is Monday night at the Garden, see you all then.

Brunson and Payne will deservedly get a ton of credit for willing the Knicks in the fourth, but man, Anunoby has been an absolute monster at both ends.

OG has 23 points and four steals, and Cunningham is 6-for-18 with six turnovers.

Back-to-back drives by Hart extended the run to 21-0, as Cade Cunningham and the Pistons have completely unraveled here in the fourth.

MSG is really rocking now, as Payne drills another trey (14 points) and Brunson connects again from down low to complete a quick-strike 15-0 spurt that has turned an 8-point hole into a 105-98 advantage with 6:15 to play.

Reggie Miller told me the other day that Brunson is “probably the best clutch player in our game," and Brunson just earned his first MVP chants with a drive through traffic, even though he missed the and-1 free throw.

Brunson sat less than three minutes and returned to the floor with 9:06 to go. He immediately knocked down a runner in the paint to draw the Knicks with three before Cam Payne drilled a 3-pointer from the right side for a 98-98 game with 7:47 remaining.

With Brunson getting his troublesome ankle checked, the Knicks forced consecutive turnovers on a five-second violation and a 24-second shot clock violation. Towns netted the first five points of the fourth to pull the Knicks within three.

Jalen Brunson appeared to clutch at the right ankle that sidelined him for much of March after landing on Dennis Schroder's foot on a drive to the hoop with 2:34 left in the third.

Brunson remained in the game and sank the two free throws, but then appeared to twist it again on a subsequent offensive possession.

The Knicks suddenly are down eight entering the final quarter after a 36-26 Pistons advantage since halftime, led by veterans Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dennis Schroder.

Josh Hart is starting to impact the game after sitting for all but seven minutes through two quarters due to foul trouble.

Hart rejected Cade Cunningham from behind early in the second half, and he just sliced to the basket on consecutive possessions -- a banked layup through the lane and a feed to Towns for another bucket for a 72-all knot midway through the third.

Jalen Brunson (11 points) and Cade Cunningham (6) shot a combined 7-for-25 in the first half, but others stepped up for both teams as the Knicks nursed a 57-55 cushion at intermisson.

Anunoby has played stifling D on Cunningham and he also led the Knicks with 19 points (6-for-11), while Karl-Anthony Towns netted 10 in the second quarter after a scoreless first.

Mitchell Robinson also provided a physical 14 minutes -- with NBA per game leader Jost Hart limited to seven minutes due to foul trouble -- with six points, five boards, one block and one steal.

Long Island product Tobias Harris has a game-high 22 with four 3-pointers for Detroit.

Cunningham is starting to showsome frustration witb a 3-for-10 start late in the second, as he was just hounded by Anunoby again and then tied up by Towns.

But Brunson is just 3-for-14 from the floor for the Knicks as halftime approaches.