DETROIT — It wasn't too long ago that Tom Gores wrote a letter to the fans, apologizing for the decisions he made that led to the Detroit Pistons becoming a laughing stock of the NBA. In fact, it took place a year ago, during the Pistons' worst season in franchise history, which included a record-setting 28-game losing streak during the 2023-24 season.

But on Thursday night inside Little Caesars Arena, Gores sat courtside as one of 20,062 fans in attendance to witness the Pistons try to avoid elimination during their Game 6 contest against the New York Knicks. Gores left the game feeling disappointed after a 116-113 loss, but remains optimistic about his team's future.

"The overall feeling I have is gratitude to this team and the individual players," Gores said. "I expected them to do well, but not this well. It feels great. I am really proud of them. We are not done. They are not lucky. They are a good basketball team. ... We will not let up. I love the future of this team."

The Knicks led 96-85 entering the final quarter, but the Pistons demonstrated how resiliency became a key factor in their success.

With 7:40 left in the fourth quarter, Jalen Duren (21 points and six rebounds) found Ausar Thompson for an easy two-handed dunk to bring the Pistons within seven points (103-96). Detroit got a significant stop on its next defensive possession when Cade Cunningham recorded a steal on Miles McBride.

They took advantage of the Knicks turnover by sinking two consecutive free throws by Duren, narrowing Detroit's deficit to 103-98. A 3-point shot from Tim Hardaway Jr., followed by a layup from Thompson, tied the game at 103 with six minutes remaining.

Their baskets were part of an impressive 13-0 run that reached its pinnacle when Cunningham put Detroit ahead 105-103 with a mid-range jumper that left five minutes remaining in the game. He finished with 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

With one minute remaining in the game, the Pistons held a 112-111 lead when Duren made one out of two free throws. Jalen Brunson had his best game of the series, scoring a game-high 40 points to go with six assists.

Mikal Bridges contributed 25 points, and his most crucial basket came with 36 seconds left in the game when he scored a tip-in after Brunson's missed layup attempt to tie the game at 113. After Cunningham's missed field goal, Brunson scored a game-winning triple to seal the deal for New York.

Their play in the fourth quarter was a complete 180 from the subpar performance the Pistons put on through the first three quarters.

Three minutes into the first quarter, the Pistons found themselves in an early 12-point hole (20-8). It wasn’t the start Detroit was hoping for, given that Hardaway stressed the importance of getting off to a strong start during morning shoot around.

Their slow start wasn't due to a lack of preparation. Instead, it was influenced by Brunson, who delivered his best quarter of the series. Brunson scored 15 points during the period, just one point shy of matching his total from Game 5.

The highlight of the period came at the 2:30 mark when he completed a turnaround jumper from the low-post on Dennis Schröder, contributing to the Knicks holding a 37-23 lead after the first 12 minutes.

Detroit's fortunes began to change in the second quarter. After trailing by as many as 15 points, the Pistons narrowed the gap to just three (49-46) when Cade Cunningham connected with Jalen Duren for an And-1 alley-oop. On their next offensive possession, Malik Beasley made his fifth 3-point shot of the half, tying the game at 49. Beasley's basket contributed to Detroit's impressive 22-7 run, much to the delight of the cheering fans inside the arena.

Beasley's sixth 3-point field goal occurred as time expired at the end of the first half, which gave the Pistons a 61-59 lead at intermission. He came into Game 6 struggling for much of the series, shooting 30.4% on 3-point shooting amid a scoring average of 12.8 points. Beasley finished with 20 points.

However, similar to the first half, the Knicks started strong in the third quarter.

Bridges opened the second half with a driving layup, which led to the Knicks jumping out to a 78-69 lead with 6:45 left in the period. A few possessions later, OG Anunoby extended New York's lead to 10 (81-71) with his fourth made 3-point field goal. He finished the game with 22 points on 4-of-9 shooting from deep and four rebounds.

While the Knicks experienced an offensive explosion during the period, the Pistons struggled to find an offensive rhythm. They began the quarter shooting 4 of 13 from the field en route to being outscored 37-24.

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