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At the end of the day, the game is about a bucket. Cade Cunningham put the Detroit Pistons on his back Monday night, leading them to a thrilling 137–135 overtime win against the Washington Wizards. The game had everything — a hard fall, a clutch shot from a role player, and a performance that captured what the Pistons’ young leader is made of. The night’s turning point came late in the fourth quarter when Cam Whitmore chased down Cunningham on a fast break and fouled him hard while he went up for a dunk, per The Athletic. Cunningham landed on his lower back, rolled over in pain, and briefly exited the game as fans inside Little Caesars Arena chanted “MVP!” The moment lit a spark. Detroit trailed by eight with just over four minutes remaining, and what followed was the kind of comeback that defines a team’s identity. Jenkins’ Miracle Sends the Game to Overtime With 1.9 seconds left in regulation and the Pistons down three, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff had to draw up a play to save the night, Detroit News reports. What happened next wasn’t in the playbook. As Jalen Duren slipped while setting a screen, Cunningham was forced to improvise, finding rookie guard Daniss Jenkins in the corner. Jenkins rose over Bub Carrington and drained the game-tying three as time expired. “I was just watching the play and everybody fell down,” Jenkins said. “The ball ended up in my hands. After that, I caught it and shot it with confidence.” The shot brought the arena to life and carried Detroit through overtime, where they sealed one of the most dramatic wins of the season. Cunningham’s Historic Night Cunningham didn’t just lead the Pistons emotionally — he made history in the process. The 22-year-old finished with 46 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals, and two blocks in 46 minutes. His relentless approach came at a cost, as he went 14-of-45 from the field. By missing 31 shots, he surpassed Kobe Bryant’s 2002 mark for most missed field goals in a single game since the NBA began tracking shot data in 1983–84, Sports Illustrated reports. It was an exhausting, unforgettable performance that showed the full spectrum of Cunningham’s competitiveness. His 45 attempts tied Bryant for the seventh-most shots taken in a game during that span, with Bryant holding the record at 50 in his 2016 finale. “There’s a grit to them. There’s a toughness to them. I couldn’t be more proud of their effort,” Bickerstaff said after the win. “Down as many bodies as we were, a tough game last night, a team sitting here waiting on us fresh… we could’ve given it up, but that’s not the nature of this group.” The Pistons pulled off the victory despite being down six key players, including Tobias Harris, Isaiah Stewart, and Ausar Thompson. CJ McCollum dropped 42 points for Washington, but missed twice in the final seconds as the Wizards lost their ninth straight to fall to 1–10, per ESPN. With the win, Detroit remains atop the Eastern Conference at 9–2 and looks every bit like a team built on belief and backbone. Cunningham may have taken 45 shots, but every one told the same story — he refuses to stop shooting when his team needs him most.
