On Wednesday night, it was Cade Cunningham’s world, and the Orlando Magic were just living in it.

Playing at home, Detroit star Cade Cunningham was motivated to avenge a bad loss two nights ago, and the Magic had the poor fortune of arriving next on the 6-6 point guard’s docket. In Detroit’s 135-116 victory, Cunningham was firing on all cylinders to the tune of 30 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, three steals and three blocks. The best part? Cunningham did all that without committing a single turnover.

That’s about as peerless as a game of basketball can be.

Apart from Cunningham’s dominant effort, which included a 14-24 offering from the field, the Pistons had five other players reach double figures on the night, so Detroit was able to capitalize on a lackluster Magic defense all game long. Pistons center Jalen Duren made a huge impact with 20 points and 12 rebounds, then Ausar Thompson helped fill in the gaps with 12 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in the 19-point win. 

As a unit, the Pistons shot much better from the free throw line against the Magic, and that was a primary force in propelling Detroit into the lead during the second quarter. Overall, the Pistons shot 88.2% from the charity stripe (30-for-34), which is a staggering improvement from previous games this season. Once Detroit finally stopped leaving points at the line, the Pistons were able to steer towards victory in a much more calm fashion. 

In the first half, Tobias Harris led the way in scoring for the Pistons with 13 points, but Cunningham had yet to settle into his groove, so the offensive explosion from Detroit’s All-NBA guard was still yet to come. But in the meantime, Harris was joined by a productive Thompson, who logged nine points, six rebounds and four assists in the first half. At the break, the Pistons managed to sneak through with a narrow 65-64 lead. 

Cunningham Opens Up Detroit’s Lead In The Second Half

After halftime, Cunningham wasted little time in ramping up the intensity for the Pistons, securing a monster block on one end before connecting with Duncan Robinson for a quick three-pointer on the other side of the court. Later in the third quarter, Cunningham converted a tough drive in the paint, and the fifth-year All-Star was slowly putting together a textbook offensive display, though his defensive performance was not far behind. In total, Cunningham snatched three steals and contributed three big blocks in the win, so he was getting it done on both ends of the floor as the Pistons held a 101-92 lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

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With the game still hanging in the balance, Cunningham locked in and converted three straight baskets with a pair of free throws mixed in to give the Pistons a quick 17-point lead. Before long, both squads began to rotate their lineups more liberally, and Cunningham was substituted for Daniss Jenkins near the three-minute mark to signal the end of the contest from a competitive standpoint. 

Now, the Pistons would have had a more difficult time reaching Wednesday night’s victory if not for the steady long-range shooting of Robinson, who connected on four triples against the Magic. Entering the night, Robinson had connected on five of his seven “open-look” three-pointers so far this season, and the eighth-year veteran surely added a few to that total tonight as the Pistons moved to 3-2 on the season.

After this, Detroit will have a few days off before traveling to Mexico City, Mexico for an international affair against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 10 pm. The Pistons will be designated as the home team for the matchup, though both squads will obviously be far from their home arena on the night.  

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