Playing a dangerous 76ers team on the road, Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, scoring 26, poured it on late to help Detroit defeat Philadelphia by a three-point margin at 111-108. Cunningham scored 24 of his 26 points in the second half on Sunday night, and the Pistons retained their position atop the Eastern Conference with the victory at 8-2 on the season.

With another win in the books, the Pistons have now strung together six consecutive victories. This is the first time Detroit has stood 8-2 to start a season since the 2003-04 campaign, and it would not be possible without Cunningham’s steady leadership.

As has become commonplace lately, Jalen Duren played an important role alongside Cunningham in the Pistons’ win. Duren was well on his way to another double-double by halftime, and the Detroit big man finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds, continuing his consistent run of high-efficiency performances with a 72% field goal rate.

LeVert And Robinson Provide Key Outside Shooting

During the first quarter, Pistons guard Caris LeVert was part of the first batch of reinforcements to come off the bench around the four-minute mark when Detroit’s first unit needed to rest. LeVert, who came in along with Paul Reed and Javonte Green, was responsible for a pair of three-pointers for Detroit back-to-back to close the first quarter, and the Pistons led 37-32 at that point.

In the second quarter, LeVert continued to hunt open looks on the perimeter and knocked down another pair of triples to become the first player off Detroit’s bench to reach double figures. LeVert wound up logging 14 points, three assists and one block in the Detroit win.

From Worst To First: Pistons Stand Atop Eastern Conference The Detroit Pistons have completed a remarkable turnaround from an organizational standpoint over the past several years.

Now, LeVert was joined by his former college teammate, Duncan Robinson, in the perimeter shooting department. Robinson sank several triples after halftime and ultimately finished with four three-pointers in the game. Robinson scored 17 points with three steals before fouling out in the fourth quarter. 

Cade Takes Over In Second Half Again

As he’s done time and time again already this season, Pistons star guard Cade Cunningham showed why he’s just that– a star– with his 24-point second half display, which kept Detroit atop the Eastern Conference standings. To close out the game, Cunningham scored the Pistons’ final five points and assisted on a Detroit bucket the possession before that closing effort. 

Simply put, the Pistons knew who to turn to when the game was on the line.

READ MORE: Pistons To Be Without Guard For Approximately Four Weeks

But before that point, Cunningham came out of the halftime break hungry and determined to pull the Pistons back into the game. Detroit held a 10-point lead at halftime, but Cunningham began methodically chipping away at that advantage in the third quarter. Mixing in mid-range jumpers with contested finishes at the rim and a healthy amount of free throws, Cunningham posted 18 points in the third quarter alone.

Lately, the Pistons’ blueprint for success has involved a fair dose of late-game heroics from Cunningham, and the Detroit All-Star delivered with the game hanging in the balance once again. When the Pistons needed to put the game on ice, Detroit’s leader did the job himself, adding the final five points needed late in the fourth quarter to secure a sixth-straight win for the conference-leading Motown squad. 

It should be noted that Ausar Thompson also had a solid night out with 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals, and he was tasked with a lot of the ball handling and offense-initiating in the first half.

For more information on the latest Detroit Pistons team or player news, follow @EricJRutter on X for continued basketball coverage.