Detroit Pistons: Cunningham Makes NBA History With 50+ Point, 10+ Assist, 0 Turnover Game

Even if history does not exactly repeat itself, it often rhymes, and the Detroit Pistons proved that adage true once again. 

Last year, the Pistons faced off with the Washington Wizards for their 11th game of the regular season on a night where Cade Cunningham set his then-career-high with a 46 point effort. One year later, Cunningham improved upon that mark with a new career-high 52-point output against the Wiz in, once again, Detroit’s 11th matchup of the 2026-27 campaign. 

“I feel great,” Cunningham said after Detroit’s 144-140 double overtime victory. “We got the win. Two overtimes, it was just going to come down to who wanted it more, who had more in the tank. I’d bet on my team any day, so great win for us.”

Down the stretch, the Pistons and Wizards were battling back in forth with 20 lead changes in the matchup, but Cunningham came alive when the game was on the line. In the fourth quarter and the overtime periods, Cunningham posted 30 points that could not have come at a more crucial time and allowed Detroit to pick up their eighth win of the year. 

With 52 points, 11 assists and zero turnovers, Cunningham became the first player since 1977-78 to submit such a peerless performance while continuing to score at that level. In terms of Detroit history, Cade’s hot streak will go down in Pistons lore as the fourth-highest scoring effort that the franchise has ever seen, so it’s safe to say that the sixth-year floor general was firing on all cylinders last night. 

Switching to the defensive side of the game, Cunningham put in a shift in that department as well. For most of the night, Trae Young had the unfortunate luck of going up against a dynamic duo of either Cunningham or Ausar Thompson, so the Pistons were committed to pressuring the basketball en route to an 18-turnover night from Washington. 

After the big win, Cunningham called Thompson “the best in the world” when it comes to on-ball defense at the point-of-attack, but AT was much more than just a lockdown defender last night. With 17 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, three blocks and three steals, Thompson logged the first triple-double of his career in another wide-ranging, stat-stuffing effort from the fourth-year wing. 

For the rest of Detroit’s starting lineup, both John Collins and Duncan Robinson struggled against the Wizards. Collins, who started at center once again, was responsible for just 10 points and four rebounds in 25 minutes, but the big man found himself in foul trouble, which limited his impact. Robinson, on the other hand, went just 3-for-11 from three-point range, so his shot was just a bit off compared to his recent string of strong performances. 

With Collins starting the game at the five, Daniss Jenkins remained in the starting lineup and accounted for 21 points on the night on 6-for-11 shooting before fouling out as the only player other than Cunningham to surpass the 20-point threshold for Detroit. 

With two wins of the Wizards in the same week, the Pistons move to 8-3 this year and have a day off to regroup before facing the Miami Heat on the road on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 8 pm.