Reggie Bullock returned to his old stairwell to achieve his best performance of the season.
The Knicks’ 3-and-D wing lived up to its bill on Saturday night when he threw in a season-high 22 points in the 125-81 victory over the Pistons in Detroit.
“Reggie was great,” coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Bullock, who established himself from 2015-2019 as an initial and legal three-point threat with the Pistons, shot 8-for-12 from the field and 6-for-10 from outside the arc. He teamed up with Julius Randle to score 28 of the Knicks’ first 30 points as they lost their tries in an emphatic manner.
‘Of course I played [in Detroit] for four years, but give honor to my teammates, give praise to Jules, ”Bullock said. “He definitely involved me. I tried to make room for him, set screens, get people away from him and just space.
‘He does an excellent job all year round of finding shooters, and finding perimeter players to put the ball in the hole. I came out today and there were shots falling for me, so I just kept shooting. ‘
Thibodeau said before the game that he only plans to use Norvel Pelle on a “situational” basis after the center signed a ten-day contract on Friday night. But the filly time of the fourth quarter was the right time for Pelle, who had an adventurous three minutes.
The shooting-blocking man, drawn in depth after Mitchell Robinson broke his foot on March 27, appears to have dislocated his right index finger as he went up an alley late in the fourth quarter.
But he hit it back before hitting a free throw and then registering two blocks in subsequent defensive possession. Pelle added three rebounds.
“Our scouts liked him a lot,” Thibodeau said before the game.
Killian Hayes, the Pistons’ no. 7-overall pick that was on the Knicks radar before the November draft has returned from a labral hip tear that has kept him out since Jan. 4. He played 20 minutes but was kept pointless, with three assists and five rebounds.
In the run-up to the draft, the Knicks originally had Hayes as the leading point guard on their board outside LaMelo Ball, before learning of his existing hip issue, reports Marc Berman of The Post. But the Knicks eventually defeated Obi Toppin with the no. 8 selected after the Pistons passed him to line up Hayes with the seventh pick.
Toppin scored eight points on Saturday after delivering a shock from the bench in Friday’s loss.
“I really like the way he played,” Thibodeau said.
Derrick Rose needed attention after he bled above his left eye early in the second quarter. But he stays in the game and finishes with seven points in 21 minutes. … The Knicks got all 15 players on their rankings in the game.