With his Pistons on the brink of elimination, star point guard Cade Cunningham answered by leading the Pistons to a massive double-digit victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite rough shooting from the field (just 7-19 on the night), Cade was the hero of the night with 21 points, two rebounds, and eight assists on 36.8% shooting and 50.0% shooting from three.
After the final buzzer, Cunningham had a candid chat with the media, where he reacted to the season-saving win and looked ahead to Game 7, which the Pistons have forced for the second-straight series.
“I’m looking forward to the energy, the opportunity, just getting back to the city with an opportunity to do something special, win in front of our home crowd, and move on,” said Cunningham.
Despite being the first seed in the East, the Detroit Pistons have faced plenty of adversity this postseason. In the first round, they struggled to contain Paolo Banchero and the Magic, falling 3-1 in the series before they bounced back to win the next three games. Against the Cavaliers (an even tougher opponent), the Pistons have once again been pushed to their limit, but this team knows how to respond with their backs against the wall.
“It’s just our will, executing the game plan, obviously,” said Cunningham in the post-game press conference. “Our will, our aggression, getting to the ball, and not wanting to lose. They got good players over there, guys who can really make plays, so it takes a lot of effort to guard them, it takes all five guys, and I thought we did a really good job.”
Mostly, it was Cade who set the tone in the 115-94 win with his steady offensive hand and aggressive scoring routine that put the Cavaliers’ defenders under pressure. On the flip side, he also made some mistakes tonight that could have cost his team the game. Besides the missed shots, he committed seven turnovers in 42 minutes, moving up to first place for total turnovers in the 2026 playoffs (76). Nevertheless, the Pistons got the job done anyway, and it just goes to show their resilience as a group.
“We stick together, stay in the moment, and don’t get ahead of ourselves,” said Cade on how the Pistons are able to respond to adversity. “Most importantly, we stick together. When things get ugly, we come together and talk. We get back in the moment, and we move forward from there.”
So while the Pistons may have won this matchup, they are far from in the clear. To get the win this weekend, Cunningham will have to be better, especially when it comes to taking care of the ball. Plus, with only two attempts at the line tonight, the Pistons will also have to figure out how to draw more contact in the lane if they want more free-throw opportunities.
Ultimately, the key to this Pistons win was on defense. They held the Cavaliers to just 39.0% shooting from the field while limiting Donovan Mitchell to just 18 points. If Detroit can play with that same defensive edge on Sunday, it might just be enough to complete the comeback and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Come Sunday, Cade will be ready regardless, and he won’t be scared of the moment.
