After New York’s loss to visiting Detroit in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Monday — a defeat that handed the precocious Pistons home-court advantage in the best-of-seven set, which resumes Thursday in Game 3 at Little Caesars Arena — Brunson fielded a question about how he’d assess his offensive performance in the defeat.

In Game 2, the Detroit Pistons evened up the series, beating the New York Knicks 100-94. Cade Cunningham offered 33 points and 12 rebounds, and Jalen Burnham led all scorers with 37 points, although his teammate, Karl-Anthony Towns, came under scrutiny after the game.

The Knicks’ end-of-season struggles coincided with teams sticking wings onto Towns. And the Pistons were watching.