DETROIT — Take a bow, Alec Burks for saving the Knicks from a colossal embarrassment in Motown.
Burks and the second unit rallied the Knicks to a 94-85 victory Wednesday over the NBA’s worst team, the Pistons, who also happened to be decimated by COVID-19.
While the starters, including Julius Randle, were abysmal and sat the entire fourth quarter, Burks came off the bench to explode for 34 points in 27 minutes and guide the Knicks back from a 14-point deficit after a third quarter from hell.
Burks was spectacular and smooth in making 12 of 17 shots, 5 of 8 from 3-point land and making all five of his free throws.
“It was vintage, the way he played,’’ coach Tom Thibodeau said.
But this was no easy night and Randle put forth a massive clunker in scoring just five points on 2 of 11 shooting with three turnovers and finishing a minus-27. He hasn’t moved well in either of the past two games.
Afterward, Thibodeau admitted Randle, their second-team All-NBA player last season, is suffering from an injury.
“He’s nicked up,’’ Thibodeau said. “I think that he’s giving us everything he has. That’s what I love about him. He’s not making any excuses. He just gets out there, he keeps going.’’
The Knicks did not make Randle available to the media after the game.
That wasn’t the only problem. The Knicks had massive plane trouble in snowy Minnesota and didn’t arrive in Detroit until 5 a.m. Wednesday for the back-to-back.
“We knew it would be a challenge,’’ Thibodeau said.
The Knicks’ young legs off the bench proved key. They needed all of the 18 bench points from backup point guard Immanuel Quickley to bail out the club as the team moved to 17-18, set to end the year at Oklahoma City on New Year’s Eve.
“Luckily we can have a nice day to recover because that flight last night was just killer,’’ said backup center Taj Gibson, who was a killer off the bench on defense and as a pick-setter. “We got in almost like five in the morning so it was real tough.’’
The Pistons outscored the Knicks, 25-4, to start the third quarter and seize a 14-point lead as Thibodeau was ranting and shaking his head most of the period.
The Knicks came out dead for the second half — missing 14 of their first 15 shots and committing seven turnovers.
Thibodeau turned to the reserves late in the third and the tide turned.
“The whole thing was just try to find a way to win,’’ Thibodeau said. “No excuses. We’ll find some people who can get something done. That’s what we did. I thought the bench guys went in, as soon as they went in it changed.’’
The starters all finished as a big minuses — Kemba Walker (minus-21), Mitchell Robinson (minus-22), RJ Barrett (minus-29).
“We were just motivated,’’ Gibson said. “We understand our job. We understand when the starters don’t have it, it’s a team and we just have to pick the next man up.’’
The Pistons (5-28) had 11 players out — nine due to COVID-19 protocols, including Cade Cunningham, Jerami Grant, Kelly Olynyk, Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes.
The mostly healthy Knicks had a surprise late scratch in starting shooting guard Evan Fournier, who tweaked his ankle in pregame warm-ups and sat on the bench.
Rookie Quentin Grimes started in Fournier’s place but was off kilter, bricking all five of his shots — all 3-pointers. Grimes went scoreless.
The second unit shined late in the third quarter. Burks scored on a traditional three-point play in the final seconds of the third to give the Knicks momentum entering the fourth, down 71-64.
“Their energy was high and they played great,’’ Thibodeau said. “It’s usually the bench guys who play and the starters come in and finish. The bench guys are very supportive of the starters. And our starters were very supportive of the bench guys closing the game.’’
When Burks drained one final 3-pointer to clinch it with 2:30 left to put the Knicks ahead by eight, even Randle was up off the bench, clapping and yelling for Burks.
“I was trying to be aggressive, play defense and get stops,’’ Burks said. “Man it was a phenomenal effort [by the second unit]. We just played hard.’’
Saddiq Bey and Queens native Hamidou Diallo led the Pistons with 32 points and 31 points, respectively but no fairytale win was achieved.
“They got some confidence and went off,’’ Gibson said of the Pistons. “They were making all kind of shots. It was kind of real funky. We tried to get ourselves back together and tried to slow the game down, huddled up and kept ourselves together.’’