Cade Cunningham put up 30 points and seven assists as the Detroit Pistons beat the Charlotte Hornets 97-89 on Wednesday night, a physical, foul-heavy game that Detroit won after trailing by double digits early, as reported by ClutchPoints.
Cunningham shot 10-of-22, hit four threes and turned it over just once. He also played through pain after banging knees with Brandon Miller in the third quarter. Detroit got 16 points and three steals from Paul Reed, filling in for the injured Jalen Duren, plus 14 from Daniss Jenkins and 13 from Duncan Robinson.
The IAHHM Take
For Hornets fans, the loss stings, but the respect is real. Cunningham went out of his way to shout out Charlotte’s best player. “Obviously, Brandon Miller is playing at a super high level, so he was tough to stop tonight,” he said. When the opponent’s star says your guy was the problem, that’s a sign Miller is turning into must-plan-for talent.
On the Detroit side, coach J.B. Bickerstaff summed up their identity in one line: “We get our mojo when the game is gritty and nasty.” The refs called 24 fouls on Detroit and 23 on Charlotte, so this one was exactly that.
For Charlotte, the takeaway is that they had a good team on the ropes and couldn’t close. Cunningham himself said the Hornets “have been playing good basketball.” Turning those close ones into wins is the next step for a young core that wants to be taken seriously in the East.
Hornets fans, be honest: is Brandon Miller ready to be the guy in Charlotte, or does this team still need another closer next to him?
More Carolina sports: the NHL-best Hurricanes in Raleigh.
Source: ClutchPoints
