The young Pistons superstar erupted for 42 points, 13 assists and eight boards to lead Detroit's three-game sweep over New York.
Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons went ballistic on Thursday evening, completely silencing the Madison Square Garden crowd and stomping the New York Knicks with a wire-to-wire 126-111 victory on the road.
New York Knicks / Schedule
This marked the third consecutive victory of the Pistons over the Knicks, emphatically sweeping their three-game regular-season series by an average of 28 points.
Following last postseason's first-round collapse against New York, Cunningham can only smile if he and Detroit intended to make a statement against their Conference rival.
“I would hope so," Cunningham told reporters while smiling. "I thought it was a good game for us. I think we all made a statement.
"We’re coming to win every night. We want to impose ourselves and our identity every night.”
With Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart still out due to league suspensions, Cunningham was off the charts as he led the Pistons to the blowout win. The budding superstar delivered 42 points, 13 assists and eight boards in 38 minutes of play.
He smacked the Knicks' interior defense with a slam dunk during the third frame, and buried a huge step-back trey over Jeremy Sochan with over four minutes left in the game.
Cunningham became the first player in Pistons history to post at least 40 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, and 5 three-pointers in a single game.
He and the Pistons officially moved past the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the league this season (41-13).
“He’s a superstar and there’s no doubt about it," Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said about Cunningham. "It’s hard for me to think of five guys in this league that do more on both ends than he does. He guards the other team’s best perimeter player. Offensively, the ball is in his hands and his usage rate is through the roof. He never says no and he never complains. He goes out and gets the job done.
"It’s impacted winning, and I think thats what superstars do. Superstars aren’t hollow numbers. Superstars are people that impact winning at a level that he has."
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