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Cade Cunningham Makes Detroit Pistons History vs Knicks

Cade Cunningham's triple-double against the Knicks made Pistons history.
Justin Grasso|
Feb 26, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) brings the ball up court against New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Feb 26, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) brings the ball up court against New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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Detroit PistonsNew York Knicks

Before getting a long break, Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons went into Madison Square Garden looking to avoid going winless this week.

A matchup on the road against the New York Knicks wasn’t going to be easy on paper, but Cunningham’s focus was on another level, making the game look easy for him.

Through his first nine minutes of action, Cunningham scored five points and dished out six assists. His playmaking helped the Pistons get off to a 39-point outburst in the first quarter alone.

When Detroit reached the second quarter at The Garden, Cunningham flipped on the scoring switch. He knocked down five of his six shots to score 16 points in nine minutes. By the end of the first half, he was one assist shy of a double-double.

Heading into the fourth quarter, Cunningham had 27 points and 11 rebounds. At that point, he was one rebound shy of his fifth triple-double of the season. When he got it in the fourth quarter, the young veteran made Pistons history.

Cade Cunningham became the first player in his franchise’s history to accomplish a triple-double at the current MSG. He’s the first player since 1968 to accomplish that feat.

All season long, Cunningham has been racking up triple-doubles and climbing up the Pistons franchise leaderboard in that category. At this point, Cunningham has one more player to surpass before he’s Detroit’s triple-double king.

At the end of Friday’s game, Cunningham finished with 29 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds. He also snatched a steal on the defensive end.

Cunningham’s contributions helped the Pistons take down the Knicks with a 120-111 victory. The Pistons are now 10-15 on the year, heading into a small break before their next run against the Boston Celtics next week.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia

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