Superstars do whatever it takes to get a win, and that’s exactly what Cade Cunningham did for the Detroit Pistons last night, channeling his inner Kobe Bryant in the process.
If you just look at the raw stats, it was an epic night for Cade, who had a career-high 46 points to go along with 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals, two blocks, two turnovers, and most importantly, an unlikely win. No one in NBA history has put up combined stats that are better than what Cade did last night.
The Pistons should have lost the game about 10 times in the final minutes, but just kept grinding behind a tough, superstar effort from Cade that will not win any awards for beauty or efficiency, as when you dig a little deeper into the stats, Cunningham put up a line that would make Kobe blush.
Cade Cunningham missed the most shots in NBA history
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Yes, Cade scored 46 points, but it took him a whopping 45 shots to do it. To put that in perspective, CJ McCollum scored 42 points but did it on 20 fewer field goal attempts.
Cade’s 31 missed field goals were the most in a game since the merger and puts Cunningham atop a dubious list that used to be dominated by Kobe Bryant and Russell Westbrook.
It’s not a record any player wants to have, but the [only number Cade will care about](https://pistonpowered.com/cade-cunningham-symbolically-slams-door-face-previous-era-detroit-pistons) is nine, the number of wins the Pistons now have in 11 games to lead the Eastern Conference.
Cunningham certainly doesn’t want to get in the habit of shooting this much, and he won’t, as last night was a special circumstance with a shorthanded roster on the second game of a back-to-back.
The Pistons were missing six rotation players in Jaden Ivey, Marcus Sasser, Caris LeVert, Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Stewart and Tobias Harris.
If you are counting, that is three starters and the Pistons’ most important bench player, so this was not a normal night. A lot of teams would have been happy to pack it in and take the loss on the second night of a back-to-back, so this win is a [huge credit to Cade Cunningham and the deep bench.](https://pistonpowered.com/detroit-pistons-making-28-other-teams-jealous-with-their-play)
Daniss Jenkins was really the player of the game, as he not only scored 24 points in extended action but hit 3-point shots on consecutive possessions to keep the Pistons in the game and eventually tie it after the Wizards missed a free throw to send the game to OT.
Javonte Green, who has been one of the unsung heroes of the season, got the start and delivered a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, including a huge offensive rebound and dunk late in overtime to put the Pistons up by three.
Wins are wins, and it doesn’t matter how ugly they are. In many ways, I am sure Cunningham would like to forget a night when he missed over 30 shots, but in others, he’ll be proud of himself and his especially his teammates for gutting out a tough win on a night when they probably should have taken an L.