DETROIT — There might not be anyone in the NBA performing at a higher level in the fourth quarter than Cade Cunningham.
For the second straight game, Cunningham produced a fourth-quarter outburst for the Detroit Pistons to clinch an early-season victory over the Utah Jazz.
On a night where a lot went poorly, with the Pistons (6-2) shooting a season-low at the foul line (59%) and a sluggish start from beyond the arc, Detroit founds its 114-103 win through a steady diet of physical defense and crafty play in the paint before Cunningham locked in for a 19-point fourth-quarter for the second straight game.
Cunningham finished with a team-high 31 points, with 10 assists at Little Caesars Arena.
The Pistons couldn’t find much of a rhythm to open up the game. While they kept things close thanks to a 10-point first half off the bench from Caris LeVert, they played from behind most of the opening 24 minutes.
Former Pistons guard Svi Mykhailiuk came in playing his best ball of the season for Utah (3-5) with an 18-point first half and season-best 28 points for the game.
It was Jalen Duren who finally set the tone with Detroit trailing by nine with just over three minutes to go. He cleaned up his own rebound to set off a personal 12-5 run to end the quarter and pull the Pistons within two points at the half.
The bigs had another major performance after Duren and Isaiah Stewart combined for 40 points, 23 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks Monday night against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Duren delivered a 22-point, 22-rebound double-double, with Stewart getting 10 points and six rebounds in their second start together in the front court this season.
The boon for Duren’s run at the end of the half was Stewart blocking a pair of shots that directly led to offense from Duren at the other end. Stewart added three blocks to his season total of 19, now tied for second in the NBA behind Victor Wembanyama.
The Pistons picked right back up where they left off in the second half, going on a 16-6 run with Cunningham and Ausar Thompson starting to find their groove, scoring 17 combined points in the third quarter.
Detroit’s defense held the Jazz to 4-of-22 shooting and 1-of-11 from three during the period.
Cunningham continued to show he’s one of the top players down the stretch as he scored 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting in the fourth quarter to push the Pistons out ahead by double digits.
This comes two days removed from Cunningham’s 19-point fourth quarter to put away the Grizzlies. It was winning streaks that got the Pistons to the postseason last year, at one point rattling off eight straight in February.
It’s November and the Pistons have already built out their first solid winning streak of the year, they’ll be eager to keep it going.
BOX SCORE
Up next: The Pistons go back on the road to face the Brooklyn Nets on Friday in their first NBA Cup matchup.
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