The Detroit Pistons needed a hero in their front court Monday night against the Charlotte Hornets.
Contending with a hot-shooting Hornets team that hit 19 times from deep required an emphasis on paint play and it was working well, however a [fight broke out between the teams in the third quarter that led to four ejections](https://www.mlive.com/pistons/2026/02/fight-breaks-out-in-pistons-hornets-game-leading-to-4-ejections.html) including key bigs Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart.
The Pistons turned to veteran Paul Reed, who made an instant impact off the bench. He played almost the entire 19 remaining minutes, scoring 12 points with three rebounds, two steals and two blocks to help bolster a late Detroit lead.
Reed’s second-half effort and a game-high 33-point performance from Cade Cunningham pushed Detroit (39-13) to a 110-104 win at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Hornets (25-29) entered the matchup as the hottest team in the NBA on a nine-game winning while scoring over 117 points per game and hitting almost 40% from deep.
They didn’t initially look the part after starting the game 0-of-5 from the field while Duncan Robinson got the Pistons going with a trio of makes from inside the arc. He would have a career-high seven makes from two-point range as the typical sharpshooter posted 18 for the night.
But Charlotte found its momentum before the period was done.
The Hornets used an 8-0 run to take their first lead with under four minutes to go. Detroit worked back to a three-point advantage late, but Kon Kneuppel and Sion James each hit two threes in the final two minutes to push ahead by four after the quarter.
Even as Caris LeVert helped open up some offense and Cunningham reached double-digit points a few minutes into the second, the Hornets continued knocking down deep shots.
The Hornets did the bulk of their damage from three, hitting 19-of-47 (40.4%) for the night while the Pistons finished just 5-of-25. But they more than made up for it by outscoring Charlotte 60-26 in the paint.
By the time Cunningham hit Detroit’s first three midway through the second, Charlotte had drained 10-of-18 for the half.
After Charlotte built a seven-point lead, the Pistons locked in behind Cunningham, who went 6-of-7 for 15 points in the quarter and led a 14-2 run.
It was Robinson getting the Pistons back ahead with a pair of layups and ending the first half on 5-of-6 shooting without a three.
A 61-57 lead at halftime ballooned after Duren came out firing with seven early points. But after getting ahead by eight, the scuffle that started with Duren and Charlotte’s Moussa Diabate became a benches-clearing brawl that resulted in both teams losing two players for the rest of the matchup.
Reed checked in for the first time and put in a shift scoring eight points, logging two blocks and a steal in just seven minutes. A pair of free throws got the Pistons out as much as 16 points in front.
Detroit led by just 10 entering the fourth quarter, but Reed continued to come up with major baskets and, after drawing an offensive foul, Charlotte coach Charles Lee was ejected from the game for arguing the call.
It lit up the Hornets as Kneuppel hit on back-to-back threes to get within six points.
Charlotte pressed the Pistons defensively and found a pair of good looks from three to potentially cut the lead to one, but after missing on both Tobias Harris backed down Kneuppel on the other end and hit a turnaround fadeaway over the rookie.
Harris knocked down a pair of free throws that, despite letting the Hornets cut back into the lead again, were enough to secure Detroit a wild road win.
[**BOX SCORE**](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587345&xs=1&xcust=jacob-richman%7C&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fgame%2Fdet-vs-cha-0022500761%2Fbox-score%23box-score&product_category=Sporting+Goods%3EAthletics%3EBasketball)
**Up next:** The Pistons’ final game ahead of the All-Star break will come on Wednesday against the Toronto Raptors. It will be the first meeting of the teams this season.