Cade Cunningham Sends Clear Message on Pistons After Historic Comeback
Former No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham continues to display why he and the Detroit Pistons are a team that others shouldn’t take lightly in this year’s postseason.
Cunningham and the Pistons were facing consecutive must-win games against the hungry No. 8 seed, the Orlando Magic, and won both. That included an incredible comeback performance in Orlando Friday night, where Cunningham went off for another big scoring performance.
He finished with 32 points on 10-23 shooting, but also grabbed three rebounds, dished out three assists, and had four steals plus a block to fill the stat sheet and power his team to victory.
And Detroit looked done early on in the game, similar to other Game 6 squads that fell behind by large double-digit leads and never could come back to save their seasons. However, the Pistons overcame a 24-point deficit on the road, forcing a Game 7 in Detroit.
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According to Cunningham’s postgame remarks, this win was all about “fight to see another day” and having a “never say die” mentality on the basketball court.
He and the Pistons clearly demonstrated that, outrebounding the Magic 52-38, scoring 13 points off Orlando’s turnovers, and blocking eight of the home team’s shots.
“That’s who we are. We’re not gonna lay down for anybody,” he stated regarding the huge comeback.
They also had the right mentality at halftime; despite being frustrated or thinking the game was completely over, they knew they could still get it done.
“We went into the locker room, and it was still a big hill to climb, but there was a lot of confidence in the room that we were gonna do it together, and we were gonna find a way out,” Cunningham said.
For the Pistons, they found a way to climb out from what may have looked insurmountable. However, it was nowhere near the deficit the Atlanta Hawks faced against the Knicks in Game 6, so Detroit knew they could keep chipping away at Orlando’s lead to stay in contention.
Cunningham credited the Pistons’ defense for being the key to this team’s clicking and overcoming massive deficits.
“When we’re guarding the way we’re supposed to, it’s hard for them to score on us,” he told reporters, mentioning there were “stretches” of the series where they didn’t guard how they should’ve been.
However, he also realizes that celebrating this Game 6 victory isn’t the right move for the Pistons, as it’s best to focus on the work they still have left.
“It keeps us alive. Allows us to fight another day. And now it’s about us going and finishing the job. None of this means anything if we don’t win Game 7,” he said when asked about how winning two straight helps them in Sunday’s game.
The Pistons have a 31-9 home record this past season, which is significant, as their fans in Detroit will certainly be fired up, hoping their team is locked in and can move to the next round.
As it stands, Detroit is the favorite to win, but favorites haven’t meant a whole lot throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs bracket, as three Game 7s arrive this weekend.
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This story was originally published May 2, 2026 at 9:20 AM.