The Knicks honored Dick Barnett with a moment of silence prior to their Game 5 loss to the Pistons Tuesday night at the Garden.
The Knicks legend, who was on the franchise’s only two championship teams, died at 88 years old, the team announced on Sunday.
Coach Tom Thibodeau had high praise for Barnett while reflecting on watching him and later meeting him.
“Obviously, condolences to his family and to all our fans, his teammates. What he means to our franchise, just a very classy man,” Thibodeau said. “I remember watching games when he played, everyone tried to mimic his jump shot. That team, it had so much creativity to it, but togetherness and sacrifice. Just the way they played made them special.
“And then when you got to know them, for me, meeting all those guys from those teams, it was pretty special. Their character and their intelligence and the way they cared about each other was really special.”
The Knicks presented Jalen Brunson with his Clutch Player of the Year award prior to the game.
Pistons center Isaiah Stewart (knee) was out, the fourth straight game of the series he missed due to the injury after playing in Game 1.
The Knicks have dropped three of their past four home playoff games dating back to last season and are 4-4 in their past eight contests at the Garden.
The Knicks outrebounded the Pistons for the first time in the series.
They were plus-four on the glass. Mitchell Robinson (11 rebounds) was a big part of that.
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He was plus-nine in 23 minutes, scoring 13 points along with two blocks and two steals.
“I thought he gave us a good lift, good energy,” Thibodeau said.
Reserve guard Landry Shamet (illness) was available, but didn’t play.
