Since Brunson’s return from an ankle sprain late in the season, Towns’ usage rate is 23.3% — down from 27.2% before the return. Before the All-Star break, Brunson assisted on Towns’ baskets 1.8 times per game; since mid-February, including these first two playoff games, that’s down to 1.1 per contest.

O’Neal’s response to Towns’ down game was the polar opposite of Stephen A. Smith, who took the Knicks big man to task on ESPN’s “First Take” on Tuesday morning and said he needed to do more to support Jalen Brunson.

The Knicks’ end-of-season struggles coincided with teams sticking wings onto Towns. And the Pistons were watching.