A strong start and finish to the game by Cade Cunningham helped the Detroit Pistons end a losing streak at two games and finish a road trip at .500.
The Pistons beat the Portland Trailblazers, 119-112, on Sunday night in Portland to finish a four-game Western Conference road trip at 2-2.
Detroit started the trip with a win over the Jazz before falling to the Clippers and Warriors in consecutive games to mark the franchise’s first losing streak in a month. But it closed the trip by winning the second game of a back-to-back, in no small part due to the efforts of its young star.
Cunningham recorded 28 points and five assists to lead the Pistons, while going 9-of-17 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line.
The Pistons All-Star hit four of his first five shots en route to a 12-point first quarter. That effort helped Detroit to an early nine-point lead.
Detroit held that lead nearly throughout the game and at one point jumped in front by as many as 18 points.
But Portland, led by a 34-point effort by Anfernee Simons, stayed in the game until the game’s final minute.
The Trailblazers pulled to within three points down on a made basket with 1:51 left but then missed three straight potential game-tying 3-pointers on its next two possessions.
Cunningham finally closed the door by making a pair of free throws with 25 seconds left, then two more to put the game out of reach.
Tobias Harris added 20 points for the Pistons, while Jalen Duren had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
At 36-29, the Pistons have now occupied the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference standings for more than a month as they move closer to a playoff berth.
The Pistons now return home to play back-to-back games against the last-place Washington Wizards on Tuesday and Thursday.