The Knicks put on an offensive clinic in relentless annihilation of the Pistons

DETROIT — The story of a suddenly cohesive unit bumping off an overmatched opponent was told in the first six minutes.

• A backdoor cut into a layout from Karl-Anthony Towns.
• An over-the-shoulder, look-free pass from Towns to a cutting Jalen Brunson for a reverse layup.
• An alley-oop from Brunson to OG Anunoby.
• A Josh Hart jam after a Mikal Bridges steal.
• A Brunson backdoor cut into a layup off Bridges’ assist.

By the end of this offensive clinic, the Knicks were already up 10 points and snatched the game from the sad Pistons, who folded like a two-seven offsuit poker hand and lost to New York for the 16th time in a row in Friday night’s 128- 98 wire-to-wire erasure.

The Knicks (3-2) led by 26 points after the first quarter, tying the franchise’s second-largest lead ever through the first 12 minutes.

They were up by as many as 33 in the first half.

The Pistons never got closer than 22 after that.

When Leon Rose created these Knicks in the offseason, Friday night — just the fifth game of the season — was what he must have hoped would come true from the starting lineup.

Jalen Brunson, the captain, dissected Detroit’s defense while scoring 26 of his season-high 36 points in the first half.

Karl-Anthony Towns, who had been listed as questionable with a sprained wrist before tip-off, added 11 rebounds and seven assists with 21 points, two nights after dropping 44 on the Heat.

He continued to counter the “soft” mark, backing down Pistons enforcer Isaiah Stewart for a layup attempt, an offensive rebound and a putback through contact in the second quarter.

Towns is shooting a ridiculous 65 percent on his 3-pointers to start the season and is hitting 3 of 6 on Friday.

OG Anunoby, $212 million man, recorded 21 points with six assists.

Mikal Bridges contributed 15 points with seven boards. Josh Hart contributed 13 points with nine rebounds.

The Knicks finished with 16 steals, including four from Miles McBride.

There was ball movement, unselfishness, cutting, dead-eye shooting.

It was the Knicks’ early Thanksgiving.

They were visitors to Little Caesars Arena and everyone was partying.

The Pistons (1-5), the East’s shining example of ineptitude this decade, haven’t beaten the Knicks since 2019.

Tom Thibodeau has never lost to them with New York, and he also owns Detroit’s new coach, JB Bickerstaff, who was hired this summer after a four-year stint with the Cavs.

Bickerstaff’s lowlight in Cleveland was probably his team getting punked by the Knicks in the 2023 playoffs, and he knew the Knicks were different, but the same.

“They’re different. By adding guys like Towns, Bridges gives them a different dynamic of guys who can individually impact a game at a high level. Both of those guys are capable of having big nights, but I think that what they’ve done is they’ve kept the heart and soul of the team, and their spirit is the same,” Bickerstaff said. “I think losing Donte (DiVincenzo) was a bit of a change. I thought he did a good job for them, too, but with the Josh Harts of the world, the Jalen Brunsons of the world, they keep that fight and spirit that gives them an opportunity and is something that they’ve been known for.

“They’ve been able to maintain the defensive identity with Anunoby and Bridges as two-way players. They will always be well trained. Thibs does a good job with his teams, but that mindset of who they are, I don’t think that changed with their personnel changes.”