The Detroit Pistons never led and never looked like a team that should be leading in a 110-91 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. It was Detroit’s second consecutive loss and fourth in six games.
The Pistons were held to 38% shooting, including 10-of-35 from three-point land. It was just that kind of night for the Pistons.
You can distill the entire game down to two Cade Cunningham shots in the fourth quarter. The first was a vintage Cade look, in which he patiently backed down his undersized defender until he got to his favorite spot on the baseline.
Cleveland’s defender put up even less resistance than you’d expect as Cade set up his patented 12-foot fadeaway jumper. It rimmed out. Minutes later, Cade led the break and knifed inside for a finger roll layup. It curled off and into the hands of Jalen Duren. He missed the putback.
Detroit just couldn’t really work themselves into great shots, and the shots they did take were consistently early in the clock, consistently short, and consistently featured little or no offensive moment. It’s like every player hoped their next jumper would magically catapult the entire team into a rhythm that never came.
The Pistons were led by Cunningham, who needed 26 shots to get his 22 points. Malik Beasley added 17, and Marcus Sasser added 11, mostly in garbage time.
Detroit couldn’t do anything against the length and physical defense of the Cavs. They looked small and slow when matched up with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Mobley finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds, and Allen had 15 and 11. They were able to help their team weather their own offensive struggles. Eventually, Cleveland’s guards started hitting shots and built a comfortable 20-ish-point lead. Darius Garland finished with 22 points, and Donovan Mitchell had 21.
The Pistons wrap up their five-game road trip Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers. They then get a six-game homestand followed by a brief trip to Chicago for two consecutive road games leading into the NBA All-Star break.