Pistons Rested, Not Rusty: 112-77 : Eastern Conference: After a week off, defending champions blow out the Knicks for their 11th consecutive playoff victory.

The Detroit Pistons had no trouble going from layoff to playoff against the emotionally drained New York Knicks.

The Pistons, showing no ill effects from a weeklong layoff, got 10 points from James Edwards to start a runaway third quarter, and the defending NBA champions rolled to a 112-77 victory over the Knicks in the opener of their Eastern Conference series Tuesday night.

The Pistons, idle after sweeping Indiana in the first round, lost two of the first three games in the conference finals against Chicago last year after a similar layoff. Detroit went on to defeat the Bulls, 4-2, and has won 11 consecutive playoff games, two short of the Lakers’ record.

“The only difference between last year and this is that the club’s maturity is a factor,” Detroit Coach Chuck Daly said. “Except for a couple of days, we had good practices.”

Knick Coach Stu Jackson said his team simply couldn’t regain the drive they displayed in winning their final three first-round games to eliminate the Boston Celtics.

“It was very obvious that we were blown out on the basketball floor and blown out emotionally,” Jackson said. “We didn’t have the same energy as we have had in other games.

“It’s going to take a great effort to win one game.”

The 77 points matched the Pistons’ best playoff defensive effort and also was the lowest total ever for the Knicks in the postseason.

“We need to get our emotional level back to where it was against Boston,” said Patrick Ewing, who led New York with 19 points but had only four rebounds. “We can’t make any excuses. Detroit played an outstanding game.”

The Pistons, bidding to become only the third franchise in history to repeat as NBA champion, outscored the Knicks, 35-15, in the third quarter for an 84-53 lead.

Isiah Thomas led Detroit with 21 points and Edwards finished with 18.