BOSTON — A heroic effort from Cade Cunningham wasn’t enough for the Detroit Pistons to make history.
Cunningham finished with 42 points, eight rebounds and five assists, but an overall poor offensive night for the team cost them on the road against the Boston Celtics, 117-114, on Wednesday, Nov. 26. The loss snapped the Pistons’ 13-game winning streak, which tied a franchise-record.
Cunningham was fouled on what was ruled a 3-point attempt, well away from the line, with the Pistons down three, 115-112, with 3.8 seconds remaining. He made the first two but missed the third, and Payton Pritchard made two free throws on the other end. With 2.4 seconds remaining, Jalen Duren attempted to get the ball to Cunningham after the ball crossed halfcourt but threw it to Celtics wing Jordan Walsh for a turnover.
The Pistons fell to 15-3 overall, matching their best start to a season in franchise history, set in the 2005-06 season. Jalen Duren added 12 points and 16 rebounds, and Tobias Harris also had 12 points. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 33 points.
The Pistons were undone by a 3-point barrage by the Celtics, who knocked down 20 of their 43 attempts (46.5%). Boston went 6-for-10 from deep in the third quarter as the Pistons’ offense went cold — shooting just 7-for-21 overall (and 3-for-9 from 3) with four assists and three turnovers. For the night, they shot just 39.8% overall and 30.6% from 3.
The fourth wasn’t much better for Detroit, as the Celtics went 5-for-10 on 3s and the Pistons struggled to knock down open shots. Down 111-110 with 17.9 seconds remaining, Derrick White poked the ball away from Cunningham and it grazed Cunningham’s hands as it went out of bounds. On the other end, White made two free throws with 9.9 seconds left to extend Boston’s lead to three, 113-110.
The Celtics put Cunningham on the line immediately, and he made both with 9.1 seconds on the clock. A back-and-forth free throw battle ensured until Cunningham’s missed free throw clinched the win in Boston’s favor.
Cade Cunningham carries Pistons in second half
As the Celtics knocked down 3-pointer after 3-pointer, the Pistons’ offense turned into a one-man show. Cunningham kept the Pistons afloat in the second half as the rest of the team faced a virtual lid on the rim. The superstar guard played all but 21 seconds of the third quarter and scored 13 of the Pistons’ 25 points in the period. He did so on 4-for-9 shooting; the rest of the team was 3-for-12.
He proceeded to play the first 3:40 of the fourth quarter before subbing out and was responsible for back-to-back buckets before doing so, driving inside for a layup, and then finding Isaiah Stewart with a dumpoff pass for a dunk to cut their deficit to one, 93-92.
Cunningham entered the game as the NBA’s leading fourth-quarter scorer at 10.5 points per game, and got right back to work when he returned with 4:23 remaining. The Pistons took the lead, 101-100, following a Cunningham layup. His midrange jumper with 2:28 on the clock cut the deficit to two, 105-103, and he found Harris in the corner for a 3-pointer with 50.2 seconds remaining to bring them back within one, 111-110.
In total, Cunningham scored 25 of his 42 points in the second half.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons’ 13-game streak ends despite 42 from Cade Cunningham
Reporting by Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
