Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 20 rebounds as the New York Knicks avoided what would have been the second 0-4 start by defending champions in NBA history.
The Knicks broke through this campaign by beating the previously undefeated Detroit Pistons 111-97 on Tuesday night (Wednesday AEDT).
Jalen Brunson shook free of his shooting struggles in a dominant third quarter that resembled the Knicks of last spring, not the team whose three losses in three games were as many as they had in 19 games during last season's run to the title.
Brunson finished with 23 points and Mikal Bridges made his first four three-pointers of the season and scored 12 in the Knicks' first victory since Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
New York then fell to Philadelphia, Boston and Orlando, and another loss would have matched the 1969-70 Boston Celtics for the most to start a season after winning a title.
But the Knicks blew open the game by outscoring the Pistons 37-13 in the third quarter to open a 25-point cushion against the team who handled them better than anyone else last season.
Cade Cunningham had 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the 3-1 Pistons.
Detroit beat New York 121-90, 118-80 and 126-111 in 2025-26, and had won the past six meetings in the regular season.
Paul Reed had 22 points and nine rebounds starting in place of injured centre Jalen Duren for the Pistons, who were seeking their first 4-0 start since 2018-19.
In Boston, Jayson Tatum buried a 17-foot jumper at the overtime buzzer to cap a 40-point night as the Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets 125-124 for their third straight victory.
Tatum finished 10-of-20 from the field and 18-of-22 from the free-throw line. Paul George added 20 points and Derrick White scored 16 for the Celtics, who have not lost since they blew a 22-point lead in their season opener at Detroit.
Michael Porter Jr had 27 points and 12 rebounds for Brooklyn (0-4), and Julius Randle scored 24 points.
Nets rookie Mikel Brown Jr made a tying three-pointer with 0.2 seconds remaining in regulation, but in overtime he missed a lay-up with 2.3 seconds left to set up Tatum for the winning basket.
Brown, the sixth pick in the NBA draft out of Louisville, finished with 17 points.
In San Antonio, Victor Wembanyama had 29 points and 10 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Sacramento Kings 130-103 for their first home victory of the season.
Julian Champagnie added 26 points on 8-for-13 three-point shooting as San Antonio evened their record at 2-2 after opening with home losses to Oklahoma City and Houston.
Veteran centre Domantas Sabonis scored 20 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists for winless Sacramento. De'Andre Hunter added 24 points and Zach LaVine had 22 points.