Cade Cunningham has turned the fourth quarter into Detroit’s safety net.
That showed up again on Oct. 28, when Cunningham put together another late surge to help the Pistons top the Charlotte Hornets 97-89. He scored 10 of Detroit’s 21 points in the fourth quarter, finishing with 30 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals while shooting 10-of-22 from the field.
It wasn’t a smooth night from the start. Cunningham made just 6-of-17 shots through the first three quarters, but when the game tightened, he did what has become his calling card: he took control. The Pistons moved to 4-1 on the season and 2-0 at home behind his finish.
Detroit needed it, too. Jalen Duren missed a third straight game after playing only 10 minutes in his second appearance, and Cunningham’s ability to steady the offense came at the perfect time. He wasn’t the only Piston who contributed, but he was the one who changed the shape of the night.
That late-game trust is exactly why Cunningham has become such a valuable weapon for Detroit. His rise to All-NBA status in 2025-26 was fueled in large part by what he did in the final period, when he ranked in the NBA’s top 10 in fourth-quarter scoring at 6.7 points per game and shot 46.9 percent.
The clutch numbers were just as strong. Cunningham shot 50.0 percent in what NBA.com defines as clutch situations, backing up the eye test every bit as much as the stat sheet.
For the Pistons, that kind of reliability is a huge deal. They already know what they are defensively, and they lean on that identity from opening tip to final buzzer. With Cunningham as the closer, they’ve got a franchise player who can finish games when everything tightens up.
Detroit still needs more overall shot creation to ease the burden on him. But right now, the Pistons have something precious to lean on: a star who seems to get better when the game gets smaller.
In Other News...
Pistons Suddenly Have A Center Depth Issue They Cant Ignore
The Pistons frontcourt questions got a little louder in a recent matchup with the Knicks, when Jalen Duren was out with a hamstring injury and Detroit had to lean more heavily on its backup options. With Duren unavailable, the spotlight shifted to Tolu Smith, who was asked to absorb a bigger role than usual and showed just how thin the margin can be behind the teams top center.
Smiths limited minutes were marred by fouls and turnovers, the kind of shaky stretch that makes depth chart decisions suddenly feel urgent. If Durens absence lingers at all, Detroit may need to take a hard look at its third-big man spot, because the current alternatives do not give the Pistons much comfort when the center rotation gets squeezed. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons First Loss Exposed An Offensive Problem Fans Know Too Well
The first loss of the season offered a pretty familiar reminder for Detroit: when the pace slows and the game turns into a grind, the offense still has to find answers. Against the Knicks, the Pistons were held to 97 points, and the issues showed up in the places that tend to matter most in tight games. The 3-point shooting never really caught up, the free throws did not provide much relief, and the half-court attack lost its flow after a solid opening quarter.
Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson ran into a defense that was clearly prepared to make every possession uncomfortable, while Detroit also had to navigate the night without two key players. For a team trying to build on an early surge, the loss was less about one bad shooting night than a broader reminder that the offense still has to prove it can create clean looks when the easy ones disappear. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Drew An Unexpected Message During Knicks Matchup
The Pistons had a little extra noise around them during their Oct. 27 matchup with the Knicks, as WWE Superstar Danhausen took to social media to show support for both sides. It was the kind of unexpected crossover moment that tends to pop up around New York sports, especially when the Knicks are on a stage early in the season and the attention spreads beyond the court.
New York wound up winning by 14 points to pick up its first victory of the 2026-27 season, leaving Detroit to sort through another night without much to show for it. Danhausens presence is a reminder of how the Knicks playoff run continues to linger in odd places, even if the connection didnt come with a ring the first time around. [Read more 🡒]