The young Detroit team beat the Knicks on the road, led by Cade Cunningham who scored 42 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds. Despite the absence of Stewart and Duren, the Pistons improved their best NBA record of the season (41-13), but the 24-year-old warned: “It’s only the Regular Season, the best is yet to come”
Presented as an unmissable match between two Eastern Conference rivals, both in great form, the match at Madison Square Garden turned into a Cunningham show, who recorded 42 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds.
The 24-year-old strengthened his MVP candidacy by leading a young and surprising Pistons team to improve on the NBA’s best record this season to 41-13.
After the game, Cunningham stressed that he and his team had yet to prove “anything”.
“It’s Regular Season, so we have to continue to work, grow, improve and prepare for the playoffs“he declared.
“We got off to a great start. Obviously we are satisfied, but the best is yet to come.“
Despite the excellent form, Detroit — completely renewed after finishing in last place in the Eastern Conference just two years ago — is not yet among the experts’ favorites to win the title.
Also missing Thursday were forward Isaiah Stewart and All-Star center Jalen Duren, both suspended after a brawl with the Charlotte Hornets during last week’s game.
“Without Stew and JD, we were missing an important part of the team. They are fundamental to who we are. So everyone had to give something extraCunningham said.
The Knicks came into the game third in the Eastern Conference, with a streak of 10 wins in their last 12, similar to the Pistons’ 12 of 15 before Thursday’s game.
But Detroit had an extra motivation: revenge after the Knicks eliminated them from the playoffs last year in the first round. Thursday’s win completes a trio of regular season wins against the Knicks.
“It was fantastic,” commented Cunningham, who made three 3-pointers in the first quarter. He added two more throughout the game, with standout moments including a spectacular dunk in the third quarter.
The other results
In other games, the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers, achieved their sixth consecutive victory. The Cavs beat the Brooklyn Nets 112-84 to join the Knicks in third place.
Jalen Johnson was the protagonist in the Atlanta Hawks 117-107 road victory against the Philadelphia 76ers, scoring 32 points, with 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Kevin Durant, on the other hand, scored 35 points in the Houston Rockets’ victory (105-101) against the Hornets.
Thursday’s games were the first after the NBA regular season briefly paused for the All-Star Game weekend.
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