First, it was Cade Cunningham walking down Kevin Durant for a stepback 3-pointer to seal a Detroit Pistons win over the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 21. Two days later, Cunningham crossed up Austin Reaves and finished over LeBron James during the fourth quarter of Detroit’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers. On Saturday, Cunningham went toe-to-toe with All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves and made a case as the best player on the floor.
Although Edwards scored a career-high 53 points, Cunningham did what he did against Durant and James. He used his offensive aggression as a catalyst to get the rest of his teammates to follow suit en route to a 119-105 win over the Timberwolves. That’s needed now more than ever for Detroit with Jaden Ivey sidelined for at least the next month with a broken left fibula.
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Cunningham finished with a season-high 40 points — the third time he’s hit 40 in his career — on 15-of-29 shooting and 4 of 8 from the 3-point line. He added nine assists, six boards and a steal.
His most dominant quarters in the victory were the first and third. Oftentimes this season, he’s taken a more methodical approach to games. One in which he gets his teammates engaged by looking to dish out dimes. But at the start of this game and the second half, Cunningham came out with an appetite to score. And no one on the Timberwolves could derail his hunger to do so.
“I’m trying to make the best basketball play available for the team at all times,” Cunningham said. “Sometimes confidence can get in the way of that, feeling like I’m in a groove or my shot is the best. But I’m just trying to make sure everybody is in a rhythm and everybody knows what’s going on. Getting everybody involved early.
“My teammates trust me so much with making plays that it’s a two-way street.”
These types of performances give confidence to everyone from Cunningham to his teammates to his coaching staff to the front office that at 23, he’s indeed the franchise player to lead the Pistons. How far Cunningham leads Detroit is up to him.
“It’s so fun to play with Cade. You get to play with an All-Star,” said Ausar Thompson, who had a career-high six steals. “Who wouldn’t want to do that?”
On the Pistons’ first possession of the game, Cunningham grabbed a rebound after a missed layup from Rudy Gobert and took off in transition. Detroit had numbers on the break, and anyone who has watched the team consistently knew Cunningham might throw a lob to Jalen Duren for a flush.
Instead, Cunningham hit the gas, blew past Jaden McDaniels and threw down a one-handed slam off one foot.
“I felt like I was getting to my spots; I felt comfortable, my jumper felt good,” Cunningham said. “The spacing and everything was great.”
In another instance, Cunningham dribbled around two screens from Duren and Tim Hardaway Jr. and found himself against Gobert, who was in drop coverage. McDaniels was trailing around the screens in pursuit. Cunningham, who is taking pull-up 3s at a higher rate this season, fired a triple and found the bottom of the net.
McDaniels, a second-team NBA All-Defense honoree last season, had more work cut out for him in the first quarter. First, Cunningham hit a floater over McDaniels. Then, Cunningham caught the ball in the high post with his back to McDaniels. He gave McDaniels three good bumps before floating a hook over his left shoulder for two more points.
With 18.1 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Bickerstaff subbed Cunningham back in for offense. McDaniels was on the bench, so this time Nickeil Alexander-Walker was left to check Cunningham.
Cunningham went behind his back to create separation from Alexander-Walker. He then hit Alexander-Walker with a through-the-legs move and a right-to-left crossover. Alexander-Walker did a decent job of cutting off Cunningham, so Cunningham used his 6-foot-6 frame to rise for a short jumper at the buzzer.
Cunningham was even better in the third quarter when he scored 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
But one play symbolized where Cunningham and Edwards and their teams are right now.
With 7 minutes. 47 seconds left in the third, Cunningham caught the ball at the 3-point line with Edwards on him. Cunningham drove into the paint with Edwards on his hip and Gobert near the rim. Cunningham gave two pump fakes, got Edwards into the air as Gobert inexplicably backed off him, drew a foul on Edwards and sunk the floater for an and-1.
Cunningham celebrated with Duren as Edwards threw his hands in the air and scolded Gobert for backing off. Julius Randle scoffed at Gobert and also threw his hands up. Edwards looked perplexed with the current state of Minnesota’s squad — as he has periodically throughout its 17-17 start.
Detroit enjoyed a 15-point lead at the end of the third quarter, and Cunningham only played nine minutes in the fourth, scoring six points. The Pistons (17-18) have now won eight of their last 11.
Bickerstaff was most impressed with Cunningham’s leadership and ability to keep his teammates engaged.
“That’s what it’s about, it’s trust,” Bickerstaff said. “Leadership shows trust, and that’s what he does. He could have very easily been selfish and got his because the ball was in his hands so much, but he understands how important his teammates are. And having empathy for your teammates shows great leadership.”
(Photo of Cunningham: Brian Sevald / NBAE via Getty Images)
