Randle stars as Knicks pound Pistons

DETROIT — Julius Randle scored 20 of his 29 points in the first quarter, and the New York Knicks pounded the Detroit Pistons 125- 81 on Saturday night. Randle and Reggie Bullock, who had 22 points, had four 3- pointers apiece in the first as New York put it away early. The Knicks stopped a three- game slide, returning to .500 at 25- 25.

RJ Barrett scored 14 points for New York, and Immanuel Quickley had 12. Elfrid Payton and Taj Gibson added 11 apiece.

Jerami Grant scored 16 points for Detroit, and Hamidou Diallo had 14.

Pistons rookie Killian Hayes returned after missing 41 games with a hip injury. The No. 7 pick out of France was scoreless in 20 minutes, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out three assists.

The Knicks opened the game with a 16- 1 run. The Pistons got their first field goal when Diallo dunked an outlet pass from Hayes with 6: 51 left in the first.

New York made nine 3- pointers before Saben Lee made Detroit’s first in the second quarter.

The Knicks finished 17 of 36 ( 47.2%) on 3- pointers, outscoring the Pistons 51- 24 from beyond the arc.

TIP- INS

Knicks: C Norvel Pelle played after he signed a 10- day contract on Friday. In late action, Pelle scored a point, grabbed three rebounds and blocked two shots at the rim in the closing seconds, getting his new teammates off the bench in approval.

Pistons: Dennis Smith Jr. also returned after missing the last five games with a back injury. He scored five points in 12 minutes.

RESERVE ROLE

Hayes started the first seven games, but suffered a hip injury on Jan. 4 at Milwaukee. He came off the bench Saturday.