During the 1989-90 season, point guard Isiah Thomas led the Pistons on a 13-game winning streak, and Detroit eventually won the NBA Championship that year. In the 2003-04 campaign, point guard Chauncey Billups was a crucial stalwart in Detroit’s 13-game winning streak, and he ultimately helped the Pistons win an NBA Championship that season too.

Now, Cade Cunningham has just matched the same winning streak as each of his predecessors with a dramatic 122-117 win over the Indiana Pacers tonight, and only time will tell if the All-Star floor general can bring the basketball crown to Motown in due time. 

With Monday night’s win over the Pacers in the books, Cunningham helped the Pistons tie their franchise record for consecutive victories, and it pushed Detroit into a 2-0 edge over Indiana for the season series. The Pistons, currently in first place in the Eastern Conference, are finally playing with some depth on the bench, and the early returns have been exceedingly positive for head coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s squad with Jaden Ivey and Tobias Harris back in the mix. 

Once Again, Cade Is Cool Under Pressure

However, it was Cunningham who once again put the Pistons’ hopes onto his shoulders and delivered during crunch time. Detroit, who led by as much as 19 points at one stage, saw its lead whittled down to three points late in the fourth quarter. At that juncture, Cunningham knew it was time to take over.

With half a minute remaining, Cunningham backed down Indiana Pacers guard Benedict Mathurin and hit a big turnaround bucket to give Detroit a 119-115 lead with just over 24 seconds remaining. Although the Pistons gave up a bucket on the other end, Cunningham helped sink another free throw in the waning moments of the matchup to help seal the victory for Detroit in a game that was not as close as the score makes it appear.

Pistons Star Cade Cunningham Says It’s ‘Exciting’ Having Reinforcements Back In The Lineup The Detroit Pistons, already first place in the Eastern Conference, received a big boost over the weekend

Alongside Cunningham, the Pistons benefited from another dominant performance from Jalen Duren down low. With his seventh double-double on the season, Duren logged 17 points and 12 rebounds in another All-Star caliber effort from the big man. Entering the Pacers game, Duren had averaged 24 points and 13 rebounds in the seven games prior, so he should stay right around those totals after Detroit’s five-point win. 

Outside of those two playmakers, the Pistons received a big boost from Caris LeVert off the bench as the veteran guard posted 19 points and three assists in a reserve role. When Cunningham needed a break, LeVert was there to run the offense, and he made a bevy of key plays to help Detroit’s cause. In fact, LeVert played so well that Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff opted to play LeVert over Ausar Thompson in the final two minutes of the win over Indiana, clearly underscoring the value that the vet provided on Monday night. 

From a team perspective, the Pistons returned back to Earth with a more modest 50% shooting performance from the floor and a 36% clip from long-range, but Detroit characteristically held a decided advantage in points in the paint, 58-44.

READ MORE: Cunningham: 'Whole Team Is Lit' About Jaden Ivey's Return

Though Thompson was not present on the court during the final stages of the game, Ausar played lockdown defense on Andrew Nembhard all game, so he was quite influential in other moments of the matchup. Thompson continuously disrupted Nembhard’s flow, and the pesky defender was a menace when Indiana attempted to set up its offense with active hands in the passing lanes all night long. 

And continuing to settle in during his return, Jaden Ivey had another productive scoring night with 12 points in just 12 minutes. Ivey went 5-for-10 from the floor, though he understandably took a back seat to LeVert in the latter stages of Monday night’s win.

Next up, the Pistons will take on the Boston Celtics on the road at 5 pm on Wednesday, Nov. 26 in another edition of the NBA Cup. 

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