ATLANTA — A career night from Cade Cunningham allowed the Detroit Pistons to have their most competitive game in more than a week.
It wasn’t enough.
The Pistons ended their three-game road trip with an 130-124 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, extending their franchise-worst losing streak to 24. Cunningham was electric, finishing with a career-high 43 points, seven assists and five rebounds on 16-for-24 shooting in 44 minutes. Bojan Bogdanovic also had a strong night with 25 points, knocking down five 3-pointers and shooting 9-for-17 overall.
Ultimately, the Pistons couldn’t overcome a barrage of 3-pointers. The Hawks made nine of 12 attempts in the first quarter, and 7 of 16 in the fourth quarter to fend off a Detroit team that finally showed signs of life after suffering blowouts in four of their last five games. They whittled separate 16-point deficits down to six, in the second and third quarters, but weren’t able to sustain runs long enough.
Detroit was also hurt by a poor performance at the free-throw line (19-for-27), but rebounded after a string of poor performances from behind-the-arc by hitting nine of 22 attempts (40.9%). Down six with just over a minute to play, James Wiseman missed a pair of free throws that dumped cold water on the comeback hopes.
The Pistons were without Isaiah Stewart, who missed his second straight game with a shoulder sprain, and Killian Hayes, who missed his second game of the season due to illness. Williams replaced Hayes with Jaden Ivey in the starting lineup, alongside Cunningham, Bogdanovic, Ausar Thompson and Marvin Bagley III.
Cunningham, Bogdanovic carry Pistons in loss
Both Cunningham (22:23) and Bogdanovic (20:03) logged season-highs in first-half minutes played. Perhaps it reflected Williams’ — and everyone else’s — desire to snap their franchise-long losing streak.
The duo made his decision worthwhile, as they combined for 24 points on 10-for-20 shooting in the first half and helped the team whittle a 16-point deficit midway through the second quarter down to nine at halftime by closing the period with a 21-14 run.
Both players stayed hot in the third, scoring 11 each in the period. And the second half was Cunningham’s best, tallying 29 points in the final 24 minutes.
Cunningham came out firing, as he had a hand in Detroit’s first 11 points of the second half. He knocked down a deep 3 off of an inbounds pass before the shot clock expired, drove and finished a dunk, blocked Clint Capela to get Bagley a transition dunk, found Thompson for an alley-oop dunk, stole the ball from Young and then got a transition dunk for himself to help Detroit get its slimmest deficit of the half, 68-63, at the 9:27 mark.
Bogdanovic also caught fire, going 3-for-3 from 3 in the period. Cunningham played the entire third, and Bogdanovic logged nine minutes. Even with their standout performances, the Pistons struggled to sustain runs. They entered the final period with a 12-point deficit, and trailed by 16 midway through it despite slicing the deficit to five early.
No rest for the weary
Williams attempted to give the duo a rest to open the fourth, but was forced to check them back in at the 9:47 mark after a transition dunk by Okongwu, off of a Wiseman turnover, pushed Atlanta’s lead back to 14. At that point, Cunningham had already played 34 minutes and Bogdanovic logged 29.
Cunningham kept rolling. A 3-pointer, a 3-point play on a driving dunk and a pair of free throws cut it back to six, 113-107, with 6:11 remaining. He found Bagley for an alley-oop dunk to cut it to six again, but mental mistakes — along with more 3’s from Atlanta — cost the Pistons late. Hunter knocked down a pair of 3-pointers that extended the lead back to 13, with just under four minutes remaining. It ended up icing the game.
Following the alley-oop, Alec Burks (who had a poor night by shooting 2-for-11) missed a wild shot from midrange, and Bagley was called for a moving screen. The miscues sandwiched Hunter’s back-breaking 3-pointers late. Cunningham’s third 3-pointer cut it down to seven, and the Pistons trailed by six with 1:34 remaining after a tipped-in layup by Wiseman.
But with an opportunity to cut it to four with 1:03 to go, Wiseman missed a pair of free throws, delivering the final blow to the Pistons.
Next up: Jazz
Matchup: Pistons (2-25) vs. Utah (9-17 entering Monday).
Tipoff: 7 p.m. Thursday; Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.
2023-12-18
Cade Cunningham scores career-high 43, but Detroit Pistons suffer 24th straight loss
Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press
ATLANTA — A career night from Cade Cunningham allowed the Detroit Pistons to have their most competitive game in more than a week.
It wasn’t enough.
The Pistons ended their three-game road trip with an 130-124 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, extending their franchise-worst losing streak to 24. Cunningham was electric, finishing with a career-high 43 points, seven assists and five rebounds on 16-for-24 shooting in 44 minutes. Bojan Bogdanovic also had a strong night with 25 points, knocking down five 3-pointers and shooting 9-for-17 overall.
Ultimately, the Pistons couldn’t overcome a barrage of 3-pointers. The Hawks made nine of 12 attempts in the first quarter, and 7 of 16 in the fourth quarter to fend off a Detroit team that finally showed signs of life after suffering blowouts in four of their last five games. They whittled separate 16-point deficits down to six, in the second and third quarters, but weren’t able to sustain runs long enough.
Detroit was also hurt by a poor performance at the free-throw line (19-for-27), but rebounded after a string of poor performances from behind-the-arc by hitting nine of 22 attempts (40.9%). Down six with just over a minute to play, James Wiseman missed a pair of free throws that dumped cold water on the comeback hopes.
The Pistons were without Isaiah Stewart, who missed his second straight game with a shoulder sprain, and Killian Hayes, who missed his second game of the season due to illness. Williams replaced Hayes with Jaden Ivey in the starting lineup, alongside Cunningham, Bogdanovic, Ausar Thompson and Marvin Bagley III.
Cunningham, Bogdanovic carry Pistons in loss
Both Cunningham (22:23) and Bogdanovic (20:03) logged season-highs in first-half minutes played. Perhaps it reflected Williams’ — and everyone else’s — desire to snap their franchise-long losing streak.
The duo made his decision worthwhile, as they combined for 24 points on 10-for-20 shooting in the first half and helped the team whittle a 16-point deficit midway through the second quarter down to nine at halftime by closing the period with a 21-14 run.
Both players stayed hot in the third, scoring 11 each in the period. And the second half was Cunningham’s best, tallying 29 points in the final 24 minutes.
Cunningham came out firing, as he had a hand in Detroit’s first 11 points of the second half. He knocked down a deep 3 off of an inbounds pass before the shot clock expired, drove and finished a dunk, blocked Clint Capela to get Bagley a transition dunk, found Thompson for an alley-oop dunk, stole the ball from Young and then got a transition dunk for himself to help Detroit get its slimmest deficit of the half, 68-63, at the 9:27 mark.
Bogdanovic also caught fire, going 3-for-3 from 3 in the period. Cunningham played the entire third, and Bogdanovic logged nine minutes. Even with their standout performances, the Pistons struggled to sustain runs. They entered the final period with a 12-point deficit, and trailed by 16 midway through it despite slicing the deficit to five early.
No rest for the weary
Williams attempted to give the duo a rest to open the fourth, but was forced to check them back in at the 9:47 mark after a transition dunk by Okongwu, off of a Wiseman turnover, pushed Atlanta’s lead back to 14. At that point, Cunningham had already played 34 minutes and Bogdanovic logged 29.
Cunningham kept rolling. A 3-pointer, a 3-point play on a driving dunk and a pair of free throws cut it back to six, 113-107, with 6:11 remaining. He found Bagley for an alley-oop dunk to cut it to six again, but mental mistakes — along with more 3’s from Atlanta — cost the Pistons late. Hunter knocked down a pair of 3-pointers that extended the lead back to 13, with just under four minutes remaining. It ended up icing the game.
Following the alley-oop, Alec Burks (who had a poor night by shooting 2-for-11) missed a wild shot from midrange, and Bagley was called for a moving screen. The miscues sandwiched Hunter’s back-breaking 3-pointers late. Cunningham’s third 3-pointer cut it down to seven, and the Pistons trailed by six with 1:34 remaining after a tipped-in layup by Wiseman.
But with an opportunity to cut it to four with 1:03 to go, Wiseman missed a pair of free throws, delivering the final blow to the Pistons.
Next up: Jazz
Matchup: Pistons (2-25) vs. Utah (9-17 entering Monday).
Tipoff: 7 p.m. Thursday; Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.
TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).