Cade Cunningham celebrates All-Star nod with 40 as Pistons win
DETROIT — Cade Cunningham scored 40 points a day after being selected as an All-Star reserve, helping the Detroit Pistons beat the Dallas Mavericks 117-102 on Thursday night.
Cunningham matched a season high for points on 17-of-30 shooting. He added six rebounds and four assists while falling three points shy of his career-best 43 points.
Cunningham outscored his teammates 16-15 in the third quarter, including eight points in the final 2:42 of the period.
Friday’s 40-point effort capped a stellar January for Cunningham, who scored at least 30 points in eight games. It also marked his fifth game of at least 35 points this season, exceeding the total from his three previous NBA seasons combined.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft, Cunningham, 23, is averaging career bests in scoring (25.3 points), assists (9.3), rebounds (6.4) and steals (1.2).
Tobias Harris added 17 points and Jalen Duren had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Kyrie Irving led Dallas with 28 points. P.J. Washington had 22 points and 13 rebounds.
After the Mavericks cut it to 93-91 with 10:13 left, the Pistons responded with a 10-2 run with Cunningham on the bench.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: espn.com