The New York Knicks failed to close out the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 on Tuesday evening at Madison Square Garden, and Charles Barkley let them hear about it.

Speaking on the TNT broadcast after the game, Barkley claimed that the Pistons have completely outplayed the Knicks in this series.

Via ClutchPoints:

“I'm thinking seven,” Barkley said. “I don't think you're going to lose all three at home and I think they're going to come out and Jalen gonna be jumping all over the place going crazy, I think one of the worst feelings as a basketball player is to lose in the playoffs at home, I think that's the worst damn feeling in the world.

“I think the one thing the Pistons can hang their hat on is they could've won every game, they could have won every game. They really have outplayed the Knicks, let's be honest.”

Every game in this Knicks-Pistons series has been decided by 10 points or fewer, so of course each contest could've gone either way. As for Game 5, Brunson's struggles were a clear issue for New York. He finished with only 16 points, shooting 3 for 12 from the field.

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But the Knicks honestly just played sloppy basketball. They missed 11 freebies at the charity stripe and turned the rock over 13 times. The attention to detail wasn't there.

As Chuck said, it feels unlikely Tom Thibodeau's squad is going to lose three straight at MSG. While returning home and winning the series in front on their fans would be great, the Knicks are certainly not looking to allow the Pistons to tie this things up and force a seventh game.

“The challenges that we set, every game is different,” Thibodeau said when discussed the message to his team heading into Game 6. “We’ll take a look at the film and see what we can do better and be ready to go, next game.”

Brunson and Co. will be focused on bringing their best and advancing in Detroit. It doesn't matter what Barkley's opinion is.