Cade Cunningham’s reputation as one of the top players in the NBA only continues to grow and it’s because of performances like Thursday’s against the New York Knicks.
The Detroit Pistons (41-13) walked into Madison Square Garden shorthanded while up against a hostile crowd and the No. 3 team in the Eastern Conference, but their star player showed no rust coming off the All-Star break.
In one of his best performances of the season, Cunningham posted 42 points (17-of-34), 13 assists and eight rebounds, leading the way against the Knicks in a 126-111 victory and a season series sweep against New York.
This is the first time since 2018-19 the Pistons have swept New York (35-21) during the regular season.
With Jalen Duren serving the final game of his suspension and Isaiah Stewart amid his seven-game punishment, Paul Reed and Tobias Harris gave some important contributions on the offensive end with 18 and 11 points, respectively.
The Pistons were slow out of the gate, shooting 1-of-10 from the field and allowing the Knicks to go up seven points early on.
But, Cunningham took off on a special performance with a step-back three-pointer that saw the Pistons made eight of their next 11 shots.
After Harris sank a pair of foul shots, he provided for Cunningham on a fast-break three, which gave the Pistons their first lead of the game.
As the teams started cycling in bench players, Javonte Green hit a late three and Detroit held a 28-26 advantage through a quarter.
Foul trouble plagued some of Detroit’s young talent in Daniss Jenkins and Tolu Smith, while their offense missed six straight shots early in the second. A Cunningham mid-range dropped to end that run and the Pistons keyed in on their defense late in the half.
The Knicks shot 50% from the field in the opening quarter, but Detroit made life a lot tougher on Jalen Brunson and squad in the second. They were kept below 35% shooting from the field and 0-of-8 from beyond the arc.
The third-best three-point shooting team in the league was held to 23% (8-of-35) from deep, well below their almost 38% season average.
A few strong defensive possessions in the final 80 seconds of the period allowed the Pistons to go on a 7-0 run and carry their first double-digit lead into halftime, at 58-48.
Karl-Anthony Towns figured out the Pistons early in the second half, taking advantage of their missing bigs and punishing in the paint. After scoring two points in the first half, he scored eight in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the third and closed the gap to two.
He crucially got Smith and Reed on four fouls, limiting how aggressive Detroit’s thin front court could be defensively.
Duncan Robinson got Detroit back up multiple possessions hitting a pair of threes in quick succession, with Cunningham serving as provider.
It was then Cunningham’s show in the third as he hit a deep pull-up jumper and split through three New York defenders for an emotive left-handed dunk. He would post 11 points and five assists in the quarter.
A nifty drive and reverse finish from Caris LeVert helped the Pistons stay up 11 going into fourth period.
The energy in the final quarter rest entirely with the Pistons as they built out their lead in quick order. Reed took a big swat against Towns and LeVert hit a three on the other end to go up 16 and force a timeout.
Detroit would go up as much as 19, but the Knicks never got back within single digits.
It was another decisive victory for the Pistons at the expense of the team that booted them from the playoffs last season.
After wins by 38 and 31 earlier this season against the Knicks, the Pistons settled for a 15-point road win to get things started after the All-Star break.
BOX SCORE
Up next: The Pistons remain on the road facing the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. This will mark Detroit’s first-ever matchup against Jaden Ivey, after being dealt to the Bulls at the trade deadline.