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New York Knicks rise above .500 with rout of Detroit Pistons, 109-90, on Sunday

DETROIT — Julius Randle scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half and the New York Knicks moved above .500 with a 109-90 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.

At 18-17, the Knicks have the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference and have won seven of their last nine games. They had an easy time with the last-place Pistons, taking an 11-point lead into halftime and extending that to 24 in the second half.

“I think the first unit is really finding some chemistry together and I think they’re reading the game well,” New York coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Offensively, when we share the ball, we’re hard to guard.”

This is the first time the Knicks have been above .500 this far into the season since they were 54-28 at the end of 2012-13, according to SportRadar.

Derrick Rose scored 14 points, less than a month after he was traded from the Pistons to the Knicks. Dennis Smith Jr., who went to Detroit in that deal, started and scored seven.

Jerami Grant scored 21 points for the Pistons. They shot just 38% from the field and went 9 of 32 from 3-point range. Detroit has lost six of seven.

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