Dwayne Casey has said it multiple times this season – Cade Cunningham has the “it” factor. His rookie season was littered with clutch players.
He added to his resume on Monday evening.
Cunningham scored 15 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to lead the Detroit Pistons (18–47 overall) to a 113–110 overtime victory over the Atlanta Hawks. The win, Detroit’s sixth in eight games, was further evidence that the Pistons had turned the tide after beating the Boston Celtics 112–111 just before the All-Star break.
There were 30 lead changes in the round-trip play over the first four quarters. But Cunningham led the Pistons in overtime with seven points, showing once again that he excels in crucial moments.
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Cunningham led all scorers with 28 points and added 10 assists and six rebounds. Jerami Grant finished with 23 points and Marvin Bagley III had 19 points and 10 rebounds. The Pistons did a great defensive job against Hawks superstar Trae Young, who finished with 14 points and 12 assists but only made five of his 20 shots.
Cunningham’s persistent possession of the ball gave the Pistons a 99–98 lead with 56 seconds left in the fourth quarter. He missed his first two tries as he struggled to finish over Hawks center Clint Capella, but managed to catch an offensive rebound and complete his third attempt over Capella as he was fouled.
However, Cunningham missed a free throw, and De’Andre Hunter’s pair of free throws gave the Hawks a 100–99 lead with 49.9 seconds left.
But the Pistons rookie fouled an inbounds pass with 1.6 seconds left and converted both free throws for a one-point lead.
But Marvin Bagley (19 points, 10 rebounds) returned the favor on the other end, fouling Collins on a cross with 1.6 seconds on the clock. Collins missed the first free throw but made the second and the game went into overtime.
In the overtime period, Cunningham converted a three-pointer and then assisted Bagley with a pass to give the Pistons a 107–102 lead they were unwilling to give up.
Jerami Grant had 23 points and Killian Hayes had 13 points and six assists.
Isaiah Leavers shows his best game
The smile on Isaiah Leavers’ face spoke for itself. At the 5:27 mark in the fourth quarter, he hit his third 3-pointer of the night to give the Pistons a 90–88 lead.
Monday was Leavers’ best performance in Pistons uniform. That’s a rough sample of just six games, but he’s demonstrated long-range shooting and a high basketball IQ that led the Pistons to take him in the second round of last year’s draft.
Leavers made three of six three-point attempts and finished with nine points, three assists and two rebounds in 25 minutes of play. He played almost the entire fourth quarter as the coaching staff decided to pass him over Saddiq Bey, who had a nine-point break on 3-of-11 shooting.
Isaiah Stewart playing with a knee injury
With 5:21 left in the second quarter, Capela attacked Leavers. As Capela fell to the ground, he crashed into Isaiah Stewart’s knee. Stewart was clearly in pain and was limping off the floor. He did not return as Bagley replaced him as a starter in the second half. The Pistons officially expelled Stewart with a right knee injury.
It is not yet known how much time Stewart will miss, if at all. But this is a big blow; Stewart has firmly established himself this season as the Pistons’ top scorer and defenseman under the rim. His absence will open more minutes for Bagley, who reached double figures for the fifth time in six games with the Pistons on Monday, and Kelly Olynyk.
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