Pistons Star Explains Emotions After Finding Redemption vs. Bulls

Tuesday night’s game between the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls featured another strong performance from Cade Cunningham.

Lately, the former No. 1 pick has been on a heater, but his solo contributions haven’t translated to victories. In fact, the Pistons have found themselves more frustrated than usual since returning from the All-Star break.

Whether it’s lopsided foul calls they are on the wrong side of or no-calls that cause them to lose a game they could’ve won on the road, the Pistons found themselves heated leaving the Big Apple on Monday night after losing to the Knicks.

Cunningham described the team as “livid” on Monday. Pistons head coach Monty Williams fired off an unprompted rant to start his postgame press conference before getting up and storming off without taking on a single question.

Monty Williams's Rant After Pistons vs. Knicks

It was clear the Pistons reached a level of frustration that can only be cured by winning a game. Fortunately for them, they did that on Tuesday night in the Windy City.

“This feels amazing,” Cunningham told reporters after the game.

The Pistons put together a strong defensive showing, holding the Bulls to under 40 percent from the field. From beyond the arc, Chicago shot just six percent while coming one attempt shy of 30 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Typically, the Bulls average nearly 112 points per game. On Tuesday, the Pistons held them to just 95, as they scored 105 of their own.

Detroit’s ability to bounce back after Monday’s events showed a lot of growth for a struggling team. After the matchup, Cunningham credited the Pistons’ leadership group for setting a solid example leading up to the game.

“Emotional day yesterday, this morning, still kind of felt it a little bit. This was a huge game for us,” Cunningham continued. “It’s just on the leaders of the group to carry that, and everybody else follows suit. Coach talked about it a couple of times, like, got to put it behind us. We got to respond and continue to push. That’s what we did. I’m just proud of my team. I’m happy to be with these guys and this was an amazing response from us.”

On a personal note, Cunningham produced an efficient 26-point showing in 36 minutes of action. He also dished out five assists and grabbed five rebounds.

In the three games since returning from the break, Cunningham has been averaging nearly 30 points on 57 percent shooting, along with seven assists. He maintained a high level of play while helping his team find positive results after taking on six straight losses.