Grant Hill Styles on the Knicks on National TV, Pushes Pistons to 19-4 (1996)

December 18, 1996 - Some context: 1. Budding all-star guard Allan Houston, drafted by the Pistons in 1993, spurned the team to sign a free agent deal with the New York Knicks during the 1996 offseason. This December 18th matchup served as his first return to the Palace of Auburn Hills, where he was met with relentless jeers and boos. Houston attempted just four shots (hitting one) and committed five turnovers in 20 minutes. 2. The Pistons were the surprise of the NBA up to this point of the 1996-97 season, entering their matchup with the Knicks with an 18-4 record and running neck and neck with Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. 3. This was one of the Pistons' first national television looks of the year, as a part of the NBA on TBS Wednesday showcase. 4. As a part of the celebration of the NBA's 50th anniversary, the Pistons and Knicks both wore throwback jerseys representing the pioneering iterations of each franchise (the Pistons initially got their start in Ft. Wayne, Indiana). The results: The Pistons dominated from start to finish, winning 112-78. Hill achieved his first triple-double of the season, electrifying the Palace crowd with a poster over John Starks and John Wallace and a mind-bending spin and scoop past Allan Houston. He finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and 5 steals. The 34-point win likely served as the Pistons' high water mark. A late-season rift between head coach Doug Collins and power forward Otis Thorpe led to an end-of-year slide and a 54-win finish that tucked the Pistons into fourth seed/fifth seed matchup with the Atlanta Hawks. The series went the distance with the Pistons wilting in the do-or-die Game 5 (this was six years prior to the NBA's move to a seven-game opening series). Pistons-Knicks Box Score: https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199612180DET.html Final Note, while this game was nationally televised, the play-by-play on this particular clip come via local broadcast team George Blaha and Kelly Tripucka.