NBA: Pistons crush Knicks, Boston pulls off comeback against Heat

The NBA Eastern Conference leaders beat the New York Knicks, while Boston staged a 22-point comeback against Miami to take the win.

These were the highlights of the day in the NBA:

Knicks take a beating

The duel between two of the East's top contenders fell short of expectations: the Knicks fell by a resounding 118-80 in their visit to the Detroit Pistons, conference leaders with a 38-13 record.

The Knicks (33-19), who were riding an eight-game winning streak, were overpowered from the second quarter on by Cade Cunningham (11 points), who needed just 22 minutes on the court, and the rest of his teammates, who comfortably dominate the Eastern Conference.

With the loss, the Knicks dropped to third place, as they were overtaken by Boston Celtics (34-18).

Vucevic makes his Celtics debut

In front of their home fans, the Celtics rallied from a 22-point deficit to post a thrilling 98-96 win over the Miami Heat, staying within 4.5 wins of the Pistons.

Forward Andrew Wiggins, scorer of 26 points, had led Miami until Boston reacted in the third quarter, fueled by Jaylen Brown (29 points and 7 rebounds) and Payton Pritchard (24 points).

Davion Mitchell (13 points) missed the three-pointer that would have given the Heat the victory in the final seconds, shortly after a crucial block by Derrick White (21 points and 5 assists).

In his Celtics debut, Montenegrin center Nikola Vucevic, arrived from the Chicago Bulls on Thursday at the trade deadline, delivered a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds coming off the bench.

James witnesses Timberwolves loss

Despite 35 points from Anthony Edwards, the Minnesota Timberwolves suffered a surprising 119-115 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, under the front-row gaze of James Rodriguez, the region's newest sports figure.

Hours earlier, the captain of the Colombian national team had been presented as the new signing of Minnesota United of the MLS.

The former Real Madrid midfielder was quick to attend an NBA game, one of his great passions, on a night when the Timberwolves let an 18-point lead slip away early in the third quarter.

Saddiq Bey shined for the Pelicans with 30 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, accompanied by Zion Williamson, who contributed 29 units.

Both teams starred in a vibrant closeout: French center Rudy Gobert (12 points and 16 rebounds) intercepted a lateral pass with 1:30 to go and converted free throws to tie it 112-112.

However, Gobert could not stop Williamson, who scored near the rim and added an extra free throw to put the visitors up by two points with 36 seconds left.

Edwards had two chances to tie, but missed both shots, well defended one-on-one by Cameroon's Yves Missi.