Dix Hills' Tobias Harris lights it up for Pistons in first half of Game 1 vs. Knicks
Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) in the 1st quarter as the Knicks play the Detroit Pistons in Game 1 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Saturday, April 19, 2025. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
The game was over, but Tobias Harris’ job was not.
As the clock ran out on the Knicks’ 123-112 victory over the Pistons, he made a beeline from the court to the Detroit bench to encourage his teammates.
This is part of what Harris is there for, in addition to the fact that he still produces in his 13th NBA season — as he did in scoring 22 of his 25 points in the first half in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Pistons are young and untested — as you may have read and heard several dozen times in the run-up to this series — and it was evident as they melted down in the fourth quarter, allowing the Knicks to take charge with a 21-0 run.
That is why coach J.B. Bickerstaff has cause to rely on two of his most seasoned players in Harris, who grew up in Dix Hills, and former Knick Tim Hardaway Jr., an 11-year veteran.
Harris, 32, a 6-8 forward who starred for Half Hollow Hills West and Long Island Lutheran, just last season was in this very position, playing against the Knicks in the first round, in that case as a 76er.
He knows how this works. “It stinks to lose, but it’s all about how you come back next time,” Harris said after the game.
Where does he see the Pistons’ confidence level after such a crushing loss?
“All-time high,” he said flatly. “We’re in the playoffs. We know what time it is . . . We know what we’re made of.”
Bickerstaff gushed before the game about what Harris has meant to the Pistons since signing a two-year, $52 million contract. He helped Detroit improve from 14 regular-season wins last season to 44.
“He’s just been trustworthy and dependable,” Bickerstaff said. “That’s all you can ask for from a veteran player. Our guys know whenever they turn around, Tobias has their back. He’s got a personality where he disarms everybody. He doesn’t want anything for himself.
“He just gives and gives and gives, and when you act that way and then produce the way he has produced for us in the moment, guys trust him, they respect him and they lean on him.”
After the game, Bickerstaff said of his veterans’ performance and demeanor, “That’s why those guys are here, and that’s why they are who they are.”
Harris, who averaged 13.7 points in the regular season, shot 7-for-10 in the first half, including 4-for-5 on three-pointers.
He had not scored 22 in a playoff game in his previous 13 appearances, including a scoreless game when the Knicks eliminated the 76ers last spring.
“The points came in the flow of it, us getting stops and getting out there and me just taking advantage of certain situations,” Harris said. “I felt good.”
With Mikal Bridges and later Josh Hart covering him in the second half, Harris scored only three additional points and took three additional shots, finishing 8-for-13 from the field.
“We didn’t get an opportunity to get him the shots that we wanted to in that second half,” Bickerstaff said.
Harris repeatedly preached calm and patience, in front of the team and in front of reporters.
“It’s a series,” he said. “You can’t get too high, can’t get too low. Each team will make an adjustment, but overall, it’s about mentally just staying locked into the moment and being ready for the next game no matter what.”
Cade Cunningham is the Pistons’ biggest star, but he is only 23 and made his playoff debut on Saturday. He knows the value of a mentor such as Harris.
“I think it’s been great,” Cunningham said last week. “I think Tobias has been such a great fit for this locker room on top of the fact he’s been here before in Detroit and all the things he brings to a city as far as giving back to the community and being the leader that he is.
“I think it’s amazing to have someone like that in your locker room and on your team. I’m excited to have him leading us back to the playoffs. He’s been there before. It’s cool to see. We need to go win this series for him and keep it rolling.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
