Cade Cunningham scored 33 points with seven assists and five steals to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 124-91 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday at Spectrum Center. The victory pushed Detroit to 6-1, extending its winning streak to three games. Charlotte fell to 3-5.
The Pistons outscored the Hornets 38-30 in the second quarter to break open what was 27-24 after one. Brandon Miller led Charlotte with 17 points, but the Hornets shot 38% and turned the ball over 25 times; Detroit scored 37 points off those turnovers.
Key Moments: How The Pistons Pulled Away
The game was tight early. Seven lead changes left Charlotte down just 27-24 after one. Detroit’s defense and transition game took over in the second. Back-to-back three-pointers from Ronald Holland II and Kevin Huerter pushed the lead to 21-17, and the Pistons never trailed again.
Paul Reed scored eight of his 11 points in the second, including an alley-oop layup off Cunningham that made it 41-38 and an 8-foot fadeaway that put Detroit ahead 47-38 at the half. Detroit carried that momentum through the third quarter with a 33-21 scoring edge, building a 33-point lead, the game’s largest. Charlotte’s largest lead was three points.
Top Performers
Cunningham shot 13-of-20, including 4-of-7 from three, with five rebounds in 27 minutes. Duncan Robinson added 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting, with 6-of-9 from three, and finished plus-25. Ausar Thompson contributed 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.
For Charlotte, Miller shot 7-of-18 for 17 points. Naz Reid scored 13 points. Moussa Diabate had seven points and nine rebounds with six offensive boards and three steals. Sion James scored 11 points.
What It Means
The win keeps Detroit atop the Central at 6-1, two games ahead of Cleveland. Detroit improved to 2-0 in the series. Charlotte dropped its fourth straight and sits third in the Southeast at 3-5, 1.5 games behind Washington and Atlanta.
Detroit forced 27 turnovers and outscored Charlotte 52-36 in the paint. The Pistons scored 27 fast break points to Charlotte’s four.
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