Cade Cunningham Pulled a Clever Move by Shoving Own Teammate to Save a Technical Foul

A true leadership moment from Cunningham.

Cade Cunningham saves a technical foul | Screengrab via NBA on ESPN

The Detroit Pistons had a slow start to their Game 4 showdown against the New York Knicks before they found some momentum heading into halftime.

Nearly everything went wrong for Detroit early at home Sunday as they trail the Knicks two games to one in the first-round series. But when Pistons rookie Ron Holland got tied up with Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns, Detroit's superstar Cade Cunningham wasn't going to let the rookie's emotions get the best of him.

In the second quarter, Holland poked the ball away from Towns as he fell to the ground. Towns made contact with Holland's legs, committing a transition take foul as he took the rookie to the ground. Holland didn't like that—he got up and stood over Towns, but Cunningham quickly ran over and shoved Holland, his own teammate, to save his rookie from picking up a technical foul.

Cade Cunningham just shoved Ron Holland away from Karl-Anthony Towns 🍿

pic.twitter.com/34Swevrg8g

— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) April 27, 2025

Cunningham put some force behind the push and it turned out to be a smart play from Detroit's leader to not let the game get out of hand following the Pistons' slow start.

Detroit closed the first half on an 11-2 run, cutting the Knicks' lead to seven points as they try to even the series before it heads back to Madison Square Garden.

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