Cunningham's message helped the Pistons stay within striking distance. With 10 seconds left in the final period, the Pistons trailed the Celtics 113-110. With the understanding the Celtics would foul to prevent a game-tying triple, Cunningham made a "smart play" to draw the shooting foul on Baylor Scheierman.

Fans were treated to a wild finish by the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons as they faced off in the NBA Cup.

Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham explained why he believes that his team is a championship contender amid a strong start to the 2025-26 season.

Pistons' NBA power rankings spot includes crazy 2-year turnaround stat from ESPN originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The Detroit Pistons ' turnaround has been well documented.

Cade Cunningham had 34 points and 10 assists, Jalen Duren added 30 points and 11 rebounds and the Detroit Pistons beat the Brooklyn Nets 125-107 on Friday in an NBA Cup group opener.

The Pistons are middle of the road in 3-point volume allowed and 11th in 3-point percentage allowed. Where they shine is denying 2-pointers. They allow the fourth-fewest points in the paint (adjusted for pace) and the fourth-lowest 2-point percentage. They shut that water off real quick for their opponents.

The Detroit Pistons were on the verge of creating franchise history, but the Boston Celtics stopped them in their tracks. Heading into their recent NBA Cup matchup against the Boston Celtics, the Detroit Pistons had an NBA-best 13-game winning streak.

BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Pistons host the Orlando Magic in an NBA Cup in-season tournament group play matchup. The Pistons are 11-3 in conference matchups. Detroit is seventh in the Eastern Conference with 16.9 fast break points per game led by Cade Cunningham averaging 4.3.