Detroit Pistons torched again by Julius Randle, New York Knicks in

The New York Knicks have arguably been the Detroit Pistons’ toughest matchup this season. The Pistons had already lost to them four times this season before Sunday, including once during preseason and three during the regular season. Three of those losses were by at least 20 points.

The Knicks completed the regular season sweep at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday, defeating the Pistons, 117-104. The Pistons were without leading scorer Bojan Bogdanovic, who sat out with a non-COVID illness, but got Isaiah Stewart back from a three-game absence with left shoulder soreness. Jalen Duren missed his fifth straight game with right ankle soreness.

Stewart and Detroit’s other bigs and forwards weren’t able to slow down Julius Randle, who went off for 42 points and 15 rebounds while making 15 of his 24 shots. Randle has enjoyed playing the Pistons in Detroit: During their last matchup — on Randle’s 28th birthday — the standout forward went off for 36 points in 31 minutes to lead New York to a 140-110 blowout win.

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Saddiq Bey (21 points, six rebounds) and Jaden Ivey (21 points on 7-for-19 shooting, six rebounds, six assists) led the Pistons (12-35, third-worst in the NBA) in the scoring column, and Kevin Knox provided 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting with three 3-pointers off the bench. Isaiah Livers, who received his first start since Dec. 1, added 11 points, and Killian Hayes flirted with a double-double with nine points (4-for-14 shooting) and nine assists.

Detroit trailed by as many as 20 points in the first half, but closed the second quarter with a 15-4 run to cut the halftime deficit to 62-55. The Pistons got within seven again midway through the fourth quarter, after Livers sank his third 3-pointer of the night to extend a 16-5 Pistons run. Ultimately,…