Cade Cunningham on Friday produced his third straight 20-point game and flashed more of his clutch gene to help the Detroit Pistons defeat the Indiana Pacers.
Cunningham finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists and one steal in 32 minutes during the 111-106 win. He had five points, six rebounds and one key assist late in the fourth quarter as the Pistons finished the contest on a 12-1 run to pull out the victory.
“The biggest play of the game, (Cunningham) had just hit a three,” Pistons head coach Dwane Casey said. “He was driving, he could’ve shot it but he trusted the pass and hit Saddiq (Bey) in the corner for a game-tying three.”
With the performance, Cunningham reached 815 points, 289 rebounds and 255 assists on the season. He became the first player in Pistons history to total at least 800 points, 250 rebounds and 250 assists in their first 50 career games.
🚨 Saddiq Bey knocks down the CLUTCH three to tie it up 🚨
Watch Now on NBA League Pass: https://t.co/oz9UCQxdQa pic.twitter.com/PlahUIcuiN
— NBA (@NBA) March 5, 2022
Dwane Casey praised Cunningham this week for having that “it” factor. He credited Cunningham for his clutch play throughout the season, and that was once again on display on Friday as the Pistons have won five out of their last seven games.
Behind the play of Cunningham, and several others, the Pistons appear to be playing some of their best basketball of the season. They have struggled with closing out opponents but look to be a team gelling at the right time with the season winding down.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
[lawrence-related id=73234,49408,49080]
[mm-video type=video id=01fx8wbqy0thvj1mg47c playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f1jxkahtwnvzepyp image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fx8wbqy0thvj1mg47c/01fx8wbqy0thvj1mg47c-1af1f108ce534d9bc3c2acda33fceb82.jpg]
[listicle id=72963]