Game 6: Detroit Pistons eye first home playoff win in Little Caesars Arena history vs. Knicks

DETROIT – The Detroit Pistons are still playing postseason basketball. In Game 5, they defeated the New York Knicks 106-103 inside Madison Square Garden for their second road win of the series.

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The road victory was their second on the road this series and the first time in a best-of-seven series since the 2008 season, when the “Going to Work” Pistons took down the Philadelphia 76ers on the road in Game 4 and Game 6.

Speaking of 2008, that’s the last time the Pistons won a playoff series, as they defeated the 76ers 4-2.

The last time the Pistons won a home playoff game in Michigan was also in 2008 when they defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals inside The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Since then, Detroit has been clamoring for a home postseason victory. They were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 to close out the Palace, and they were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019 during the Blake Griffin era, which was their first playoff run inside Little Caesars Arena.

The LCA was built in 2017 and opened publicly on Sept. 5, 2017. Construction began on April 24, 2015, replacing the Joe Louis Arena (Detroit Red Wings) in downtown Detroit and The Palace.

Prior to their two road victories against the Knicks, the Pistons lost Game 3 118-116 and Game 4 94-93 after a controversial call at the buzzer.

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Those back-to-back home losses place the Pistons at 0-6 all-time inside Little Caesars Arena, but they have a chance to snap that losing skid and get a postseason win in Michigan for the first time since 2008.

To put that into context, Pistons All-Star guard Cade Cunningham was six years old in 2008, the iPhone had been around for one year, Lebron James was 249th on the scoring list, and the team’s official Twitter account didn’t come until five months later.

Look for the Pistons to try to win their first home playoff game inside LCA and extend the series to Game 7, as they’ll play host to the Knicks in Game 6 on Thursday (May 1) at 7:30 p.m.