Karl-Anthony Towns is no stranger to head coach Mike Brown leaning on him when the going gets tough for the New York Knicks. 

The big man was pivotal in the Knicks winning their first NBA championship in 53 years last season, and he stepped up to the plate again on Tuesday — leading New York (1-3) to its first victory of the campaign, 111-97, against the Detroit Pistons (3-1). 

The Knicks handed the Pistons their first loss behind a monstrous Madison Square Garden display from KAT. He posted season-highs of 27 points and 20 rebounds, adding three assists on 12-for-21 shooting. 

The Knicks may have led 51-50 at halftime — despite trailing by 13 points after the first quarter — but they were far from pleased with their performance as a collective, particularly on the interior. 

Deputizing for the injured Jalen Duren, Pistons center Paul Reed was causing New York all sorts of problems, and Brown knew exactly who to call to put out the fire. 

"KAT is a grown man, a perennial All-Star. I just told him the truth," Brown said afterward. "'KAT, [Paul Reed] is killing us on the glass, and when he gets a rebound, he's putting it back. If he gets on the perimeter, guard him. And he did those things." 

Reed ended the night with 22 points and nine rebounds. Towns had just four points (2-for-3 FG) and nine boards at the break before taking over the matchup after the interval. He propelled the Knicks to outscore the Pistons 37-13 in the third quarter, blowing the game wide open. 

"I have to take my hat off to KAT because I thought his shift in mindset was really big for us in the second half," Brown added. 

Nobody in New York was waving red flags after the Knicks' 0-3 start to the year; however, they needed to get a win on the board for their own sanity — before the hole got too deep to climb out of in an improved Eastern Conference. 

Coming into MSG undefeated, the Pistons were a tall summit that the Knicks had to use all of their championship pedigree to scale. 

Towns had the reigning Finals MVP Jalen Brunson by his side. He chipped in 23 points and seven assists. 

Elsewhere in the starting lineup, OG Anunoby (13) and Mikal Bridges (12) combined for 25 points. All of Bridges' makes came from beyond the arc (4-for-8 3PT). Landry Shamet added 13 points, and Andre Drummond had 10, both off the bench. 

The Knicks lost the fourth quarter 34-23, but how they got over the line didn't matter. They built a sizable lead, and they protected it. Now they have to continue building momentum in the second half of the back-to-back in Chicago on Wednesday. 

The Bulls are 1-3 on the year (0-1 at home), falling to the Boston Celtics 134-99 last time out on Monday.