Cade Cunningham banks Detroit Pistons past Miami Heat, 116-113, in final second
MIAMI — In front of a national audience, Cade Cunningham put on a show.
Cunningham delivered his ninth triple-double of the season and hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 116-113 win over the Miami Heat. He finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in a nationally televised game on ESPN.
His 3-pointer with 56 seconds remaining gave the Pistons a two-point lead, but Tyler Herro tied the game at 113 with 5 seconds left, drawing a shooting foul by Jalen Duren, after the big switched onto him at the 3-point arc, and making both free throws.
It was one of the Pistons' weaker defensive performances in recent weeks, allowing the Heat to shoot 50% in the first half and 59.1% (13-22) in the third quarter. They didn't have an answer for Bam Adebayo, who led the Heat with 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, or for Herro, who tallied 29 points.
The final period was their best defensively, though, holding the Heat to 36.4% (8-for-22) while shooting 52.6% (10-for-19) to close out the win. The Pistons (39-31) took their first lead of the final period with 2:30 to play, after Duren finished a missed hook from Cunningham with a putback dunk to put the Pistons up, 110-109.
Pistons keep pace in NBA playoff hunt on national TV
It was the Pistons’ second game on ESPN this season. They entered the season with just one scheduled — Feb. 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers, a home game they won by 13 points without Cunningham, who sat out with a right ankle sprain.
Wednesday’s game in Miami was added to ESPN’s slate last Thursday, a testament to the Pistons’ improvement this season and Cunningham’s status as a rising superstar. They were the marquee team, facing a Heat squad that had lost eight straight entering the game and has struggled since trading Jimmy Butler at the deadline.
The victory kept the Pistons tied in wins (39) with the fourth-seeded Indiana Pacers, though the Pistons have two more losses, to sit a game back in the standings. The Pistons are virtually tied with the Milwaukee Bucks (38-30), who didn't play Wednesday, for fifth place in the East, and sit 5½ games up on the seventh-place Atlanta Hawks to stay out of the play-in tournament. The Pistons have 12 games remaining. Next up: Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks on the road (8:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit) before returning home to host the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday afternoon.
Ron Holland sparks Pistons in 2nd
With 8:44 to play in the first half, Michigan alumnus Duncan Robinson shoved Holland to the ground while battling for rebounding position. Holland took offense to the shove, immediately rising up and getting in Robinson’s face before Adebayo and teammates from both sides rushed in to separate the two.
It was a needed moment of passion for the Pistons, who trailed by 12 points early in the quarter after shooting 39.1% in the opening period. Holland, after he and Robinson were whistled for technical fouls, got to the rim for back-to-back buckets in the paint to lead a Pistons run that gave them the lead, 50-49, with 4:20 remaining until halftime.
In transition, he pushed the pace and attacked the rim, slowing down while avoiding Adebayo’s block attempt to gently finish the layup. The next play, he lost Robinson with a crossover dribble and finished another layup through contact, making the and-one free throw. A hook a minute later cut the deficit to three, 45-42.
Holland, a rookie and last summer's No. 5 overall pick, is the only Piston who has appeared in all 70 games this season. At 19 years old, he has carved out a steady bench role for a postseason-bound team largely because of the energy and hustle he provides. On a night his teammates struggled to get it going offensively, he seized the moment and helped them get back into the game.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons put out Miami Heat on last-second 3, 116-113
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