Reggie Bullock returned to his old stomping ground to put on his best performance of the season.
The 3-and-D wing of the Knicks lived up to its billing on Saturday-evening when he threw in 22 runs in the 125-81 win over the Pistons in Detroit.
“Reggie was great,” said coach Tom Thibodeau.
Bullock, who had established himself as a starter and legitimate three-point threat with the Pistons from 2015-2019, shot 8-for-12 from the field and 6-for-10 from outside the arc. He teamed up with Julius Randle to score 28 of the Knicks’ first 30 points as they emphatically ended their three-game lost streak.
‘I clearly played [in Detroit] for four years, but give credit to my teammates, price Jules, ”said Bullock. ‘He certainly got me involved. I tried to make room for him, set up screens, get people off him, and just space.
“He does a great job all year round finding archers, finding perimeter players to put the ball in the hole. I came out and shots fell in front of me so I just kept shooting. “
Thibodeau said before the game that he only wanted to use Norvel Pelle on a “situational” basis after the center signed a ten-day contract on Friday night. But the garbage dump time in the fourth quarter turned out to be the right time for Pelle, who had three adventurous minutes.
The shot-blocking big man, scarred for depth after Mitchell Robinson broke his foot on March 27, appeared to dislocate his right index finger as he walked up an alley late in the fourth quarter.
But he put it back in before hitting a free throw and then registering two blocks for the ensuing defensive possession. Pelle added three rebounds.
“Our scouts really loved him,” Thibodeau said before the game.
Killian Hayes, the Pistons’ No. 7 overall pick who was on the Knicks radar before November’s trek, was returning from a labral hip tear that had kept him out since January 4. He played for 20 minutes, but was held scoreless, with three assists and five rebounds.
Leading up to the draft, the Knicks originally had Hayes as the top point guard on their board, outside of LaMelo Ball, before hearing of his pre-existing hip problem, The Post’s Marc Berman reported. But the Knicks eventually landed Obi Toppin with the No. 8 after the Pistons passed him on to draft Hayes with the seventh pick.
Toppin scored eight points on Saturday after delivering a shock to the bench in Friday’s loss.
“I really like the way he played,” said Thibodeau.
Derrick Rose needed attention after getting bloody over his left eye during a ride to the rim early in the second quarter. But he stayed in the game, finishing with seven points in 21 minutes. … The Knicks got all 15 players on their roster in the game.