The Boston Celtics star had some profane comments after defeating the Pistons 117-114 on Wednesday
In the waning moments of the Detroit Pistons’ 117-114 loss to the Boston Celtics, the referees convened to make a crucial decision.
With less than seven seconds remaining, Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham had taken the ball out along the left side of the floor. Cunningham raced towards the other end just as the Celtics worked to commit a foul, effectively shortening Detroit’s shot at a comeback since the Pistons would only take two free throw attempts while trailing by three points.
In order to avoid that scenario, Cunningham put up a shot from well past mid-floor because he knew that Boston was looking to foul. At first, the refs on the court called a non-shooting foul and awarded Cunningham with two shots at the charity stripe. However, it was at that point when official Tony Brothers stepped in and decided to take another look.
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Upon further review, Brothers observed that Cunningham actually initiated his shot attempt before the Celtics had enough time to commit the foul, so Cade’s free throw trip would involve three shots instead of two, just enough for the Pistons to tie the game.
The crowd, clearly displeased with the call, let the refs know what their thoughts were as Cunningham approached the foul strip with the weight of Motown riding on his shoulders. Cunningham calmly drained his first two shots, pulling the Pistons within one at 115-114. From there, Cunningham’s final shot rattled out and into the hands of a waiting Payton Pritchard. Pistons point forward Ausar Thompson fouled Pritchard to keep Detroit’s hopes alive, but the Celtics ultimately closed out the game, snapping the Pistons’ 13-game winning streak in the process.
Throughout the start of the 2025-26 campaign, Cunningham has led the NBA in fourth quarter scoring, and for the most part he came through in the clutch against Boston on Wednesday. Cunningham scored 12 points in the final frame, which is slightly above his season average, so the Pistons’ All-Star was a productive scorer off of his drives and from the free throw line down the stretch. In all, Cunningham posted a 42-point performance when the clock struck triple zero.
Brown, on the other hand, had himself a quality showing in the Celtics’ NBA Cup win as well. Brown finished the game with 33 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, but on a head-to-head matchup he does not compare favorable to Cunningham.
After the game, Brown chided Cunningham during his on-court interview by dropping an F-bomb while repeating that the “ball don’t lie.” In the game, Brown shot 37.5% from the field and 28% from behind the arc, while Cunningham finished with a 46% mark from the field and 44% from three-point range. So, Cunningham got the best of Brown in both of those shooting categories before Brown’s post-game proclamation.
The ball might not lie, but Brown might not be telling the full truth either in his profane remarks after the game.
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