Pistons' Cade Cunningham makes history in thriller vs. Heat
12/17/2024 09:37 AM
Monday night’s regular-season return came in winning fashion for the Detroit Pistons, who defeated the Miami Heat 125-124. Pistons’ point guard Cade Cunningham was the catalyst of the Detroit victory after recording another historic triple-double for the franchise.
Cunningham became the first player in Pistons’ history to record a stat line of 20 points, a career-high 18 assists, and 11 rebounds. This marks the sixth triple-double of the regular season for the fourth-year point guard, third most in the NBA behind only LeBron James and Nikola Jokic. Cunningham spoke about handling so much responsibility on a night-to-night basis for the Pistons during the postgame media session.
“It’s what my job is, it’s what my responsibility is. It’s what I’ve always asked for growing up. It’s what I’ve always dreamed of, being the guy who can do everything, which is the highest level player you can find,” Cunningham explained. “To be able to have that responsibility is a blessing, and I just try to bring it every night.”
The Pistons prevailed in another close battle against the Heat back in November. Monday’s rematch had a similar carryover as Detroit faced more late-game adversity at Little Caesars Arena. After squandering a lead as big as 19 points in the third quarter, the Pistons managed to claw back for a victory with playmaking help from their point guard. Detroit regained the lead off a difficult floater by Cunningham over two Heat defenders with 37.5 seconds left in overtime.
Cunningham’s playmaking sparked some major production from his teammates throughout the contest. Shooting guard Malik Beasley led the Pistons in scoring with 28 points including seven three-pointers. Swingman Tim Hardaway Jr. had 16 points including three clutch triples that wiped away the Heat’s eight-point overtime lead.
Breakout starting performance by Ausar Thompson
Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff decided to start forward Ausar Thompson in the case of injured veteran Tobias Harris (thumb). Thompson played a season-high 26 minutes and made a major impact on both sides of the ball. He tallied 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and swiped four steals in a stellar defensive effort.
Thompson helped generate plenty of transition opportunities to play fast against Miami. The Pistons put together 26 fast break points as a team. Thompson’s defensive energy also helped limit the Heat to 27.9% from three, considering they are one of the best distance-shooting teams in the league. Bickerstaff had plenty of compliments to describe his performance after the victory.
“I thought he was really good on both ends of the floor and I think there’s more to come. When you see him around the basket, those are things he normally finishes,” Bickerstaff stated. “You see all the things that he can do on the floor as a playmaker, as a rebounder, playing off the catch attacking the paint, and we know what he’s capable of defensively. I thought he was really good tonight and I think he’s only going to get better.”
Detroit fought through the game with a shorthanded roster courtesy of other injuries. Shooting guard Jaden Ivey was a late scratch from the lineup due to left knee pain. Ivey went through a normal pregame shoot-around but was ruled out just before tipoff.
The Pistons’ frontcourt suffered a bad loss in the first half when center Isaiah Stewart hyperextended his knee. Stewart’s injury occurred after a nasty landing when contesting a layup by Miami in the second quarter. He was ruled out the rest of the game with no update after the game from the coaching staff.
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