Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham’s 33-Point Display ‘Set The Tone’ In Win Over Hornets

Once again, the Detroit Pistons proved on Monday night that their defense is is strong enough to stifle any squad in the association with a whopping 124-91 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on the road. 

Zooming out a bit, the Pistons toppled the Hornets for the second time in less than a week due to the league’s scheduling quirk, but they were able to dispatch Charlotte differently last night with three-pointers falling from every direction. In Detroit’s 33-point win, the Pistons set a new season-high for triples with 18 connections from downtown, but they complemented that offensive display with a tenacious defensive offering of 15 steals as well. 

As a whole, the Pistons held their opponent to under 100 points last night for the fourth time this year en route to a 6-1 record overall, which is good enough for second place in the Eastern Conference behind only the Philadelphia 76ers. Coincidentally, the Pistons are the only team to defeat the Sixers this season, and they’re headed for another crash-course on Wednesday night. 

But in terms of Detroit’s substantial win over the Hornets, All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham lit up the Hornets for a 33-piece without playing the majority of the fourth quarter. By that point, the Pistons had already built a 20-plus point edge, so head coach J.B. Bickerstaff filtered in some reserve players to close out the big road win. 

From the jump, Cunningham was active in the scoring department for Detroit and lodged nine of the team’s first 13 points of the game. Overall, the All-NBA First-Teamer drilled four shots from downtown with five rebounds, seven assists and five steals in under 30 minutes of duty. So, not only was Cunningham prolific and wide-ranging in his impact last night, he was also efficient in dismantling the Hornets on their own court. 

”I thought he set the tone,” Bickerstaff said after the game. “He picked the spot where it was time to put his foot on the gas, and he came out particularly in the second half and led the way. Again, he’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever seen, and his ability to choose the moment and then get his teammates to go along with him is just special. That’s why he is who he is.”

Cunningham was on the floor when the Pistons went on a lopsided 27-2 run towards the end of the third quarter which all but spelled the end for Charlotte. Last time the Pistons and Hornets played, Cunningham dropped 30 points in that outing as well, so it appears that the two-time All-Star currently has the Hornets’ number. 

Since Jalen Duren was still out with a lingering hamstring strain, Paul Reed filled in for the 22-year old All-Star with an 11-point, five-rebound performance down low. B-Ball Paul has delivered some impactful stat lines in Duren’s absence over the past week, but the big man has been out-worked on the glass and has just a 4.3 rebounds per game average over the last three games. The Pistons certainly miss JD’s ability to clean the boards, but Reed has otherwise done a quality job of helping Detroit sustain without Duren in the lineup. 

The Pistons will have a day off to regroup, but the Central Division squad is back in action at home against the 76ers tomorrow night at 7 pm.