The Eastern Conference first-round playoff series between New York (3) and Detroit (6) was expected to be no cakewalk for the favored Knicks, who went 1-3 vs. the Pistons in the regular season.

Still, the Pistons’ strong start to Game 1 caught a ton of people, including the Knicks, off guard, as Tom Thibodeau’s team entered the fourth quarter down 91-83.

But thanks to big fourth quarters from backup G Cameron Payne and star Jalen Brunson, the favorites put together a furious 21-0 rally that turned a 98-90 deficit into a 111-98 lead, and the Knicks ended up winning 123-112.

Game 2 between the Pistons and Knicks tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday night.

Pistons vs. Knicks Odds: Spread, ML, Total

How to Watch Pistons vs. Knicks

• Tipoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
• Channel: TNT/truTV/Max

Best Pistons vs. Knicks Player Props

Jalen Brunson 30+ Points (+124 at FanDuel) — 1 unit

First of all, we’re getting a juicy price, as this prop is listed at +100 at DraftKings and +105 at bet365 as of Monday afternoon.

Brunson has now played the Pistons five times this year (four regular-season games and one in the playoffs), with over 30 points four times. His only low-scoring game against Detroit came in the final week of the regular season, when he played just 29 minutes in a 115-106 loss on April 10 and finished with 15 points.

In four other games vs. tonight’s opponent, though, Brunson shot a combined 49-for-94 from the field on an average of 23.5 FGA per game, which translated to 33 ppg.

More importantly, Brunson is coming off a 34-point night in Game 1 despite a rare inefficient shooting night. The Knicks’ All-Star point guard was a 49 percent shooter this season, but he shot just 44 percent on 27 FGA on Saturday. He still managed to go for 34 thanks to 8-for-10 shooting from the free-throw line, though.

Unless Detroit — which has sent Brunson to the line for eight or more free throws three of the last four times it has faced him — is suddenly able to limit Brunson’s looks from the floor and/or the charity stripe, it’s hard to see him not putting up 30 points or more in this game.

One last reason to like Brunson to cash this prop: While he only reached this milestone in 19/65 games this year, he has eight 30-point games in his last 14 playoff games (4/6 vs. Philly, 3/7 vs. Indy last year; 1/1 vs. Detroit this year).

Pistons vs. Knicks Injury News

The Knicks do not have any players listed on the injury report tonight.

The Pistons list backup center Isaiah Stewart as questionable, and they have been without guard Jaden Ivey since January.

Pistons vs. Knicks Prediction, Best Bets

The scary thing for Detroit is that it ended up losing Game 1 by double digits despite 15-for-32 shooting from 3-point land.

Still, there’s no denying that for three quarters, the young Pistons looked capable of making this a hard-fought series, at the very least. Cade Cunningham and Co. trailed just 57-55 at halftime and led 91-83 entering the fourth quarter following a 36-point explosion in the third.

Detroit played well enough offensively to win Game 1, but it allowed the Knicks to shoot 52.7 percent from the floor, even with Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby shooting a combined 20-for-45.

At this point, I don’t expect New York to cruise to any wins in this series, but I’ll believe that Cunningham and the Pistons can play well enough in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden to win when I see it.

I like the Knicks to go up 2-0 and cover, especially if the Pistons once again struggle with turnovers — Detroit had 21 in Game 1, including six by Cunningham.

Another reason to like the Knicks tonight is the fact that they won the series opener despite Tobias Harris (4-for-5), Malik Beasley (6-for-12) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (3-for-8) combining to knock down 13-of-25 3-point attempts.

Pistons vs. Knicks Best Bets:

• Knicks -6.5 (-112 at DraftKings) — 1 unit

Newsweek may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up through the links in this article. See the sportsbook operator’s terms and conditions for important details. Sports betting operators have no influence over newsroom coverage.