NEW YORK — Ahead of tipoff against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, Knicks head coach Mike Brown reflected on his time as an assistant coach on the Golden State Warriors’ championship staff in 2018. It was the season after the Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant-led Warriors won it all in 2017. The Dubs lost on their ring night and dropped two of their first three games to begin their title defense campaign.

“The one thing that I do know [about that season] is nobody ever panicked, from the ownership to the [general manager] to coaching staff all down through players. We just truly felt we were better than the way we were playing,” Brown said. “At that point in the season, to go through getting thumped in the head sometimes, might not be all bad, you know?

“So I think that’s the biggest thing is to know that you’ve got a game plan and you want to stay the course. Make some tweaks here, make some tweaks there.”

The Knicks didn’t look too panicked down double digits, once again, to a team they’ve struggled against in recent years. Instead, for the first time as reigning NBA champions, they found the win column with a 111-97 victory over the Pistons in the first leg of a home-road back-to-back on Tuesday.

They will have a chance to make it two in a row in Chicago against the Bulls on Wednesday.

Mikal Bridges had his bounce-back game, Karl-Anthony Towns dominated a team short on centers — though his uptick in turnovers reached new highs on Tuesday — and the Knicks got a victory over the Pistons for the first time in 544 days.

Brown didn’t care when asked pregame about the Pistons’ undefeated 3-0 record over the Knicks last season. Detroit boasted a 6-1 combined record against New York over the past two seasons.

“We’ve just gotta focus on the next opponent in front of us and Detroit’s that opponent. They had our number last year. That’s kind of how the NBA season works,” the coach said. “I don’t necessarily put a ton of stock in — and obviously you want to be in position for a playoff run — but I don’t put a ton of stock in they won the [season] series or they killed us in a [playoff] series because playoff season is a different ball game.”

After shooting a combined 5 of 16 from the field and 0 of 10 from 3-point range over his first three games, Bridges found the bottom of the net for 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from deep against the Pistons on Tuesday. It was a welcome sight for a player whose shooting swings became a touchy topic during New York’s championship run last season.

“He had three or four wide open threes, and obviously we want him to make half of them if they’re open,” Brown said after the loss to the Magic on Sunday. “But he’s gotta keep shooting and hopefully they’ll go in sooner than later.”

The Pistons were without starting All-Star center Jalen Duren and started backup big man Paul Reed against the Knicks on Tuesday. Towns responded by finishing with 27 points and 20 rebounds. He also turned the ball over seven times and has amassed 19 turnovers through the Knicks’ first four games.

“[The win] felt good. It’s been a long time coming,” he said in his walk-off interview. “These fans deserved the best of us, and we didn’t give it to them over the first three games.”

Jalen Brunson finished with 23 points and seven assists. The Knicks held Cade Cunningham to 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting and came back from down 13 to lead by as many as 27 points on Tuesday.

Next up: A Knicks team with fatigued legs plays the young and fun Bulls out in Chicago for an opportunity to make it two in a row on Wednesday.

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