Cade Cunningham put on a show in Madison Square Garden on Thursday night in a win over Jalen Brunson and the Knicks.
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NEW YORK — Fresh off his first weekend as an All-Star starter, Cade Cunningham stepped into Madison Square Garden with something to prove.
The Detroit Pistons were without their second All-Star in Jalen Duren and arguably the NBA’s best rim protector in Isaiah Stewart heading into their third and final game against the New York Knicks on Thursday, as both are serving suspensions. The objective for the Knicks entering this matchup, then, was to neutralize Cunningham.
Rather than being overwhelmed by New York’s defensive scheme, Cunningham picked it apart from start to finish for what was arguably the most impressive performance of his career in a 126-111 win — one that completed a regular-season sweep of the Knicks.
Cunningham got whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, finishing with 42 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds and two blocks. It’s become commonplace for Cunningham to be the best player on the hardwood on any given night. But this performance, in his lone trip to MSG this season, declared that he’s ascended into an echelon worthy of serious MVP consideration.
He became the only player in franchise history to record 40-plus points and 10-plus assists at Madison Square Garden and joined LeBron James and Allen Iverson as the only opposing players to reach those numbers in that arena. Cunningham is on pace to average a career best in plus-minus (plus-8.1), offensive rating (118.5), defensive rating (109.9), assists (9.7), steals (1.5) and blocks (0.9).
When asked if he felt he made a statement with his performance, Cunningham, in typical nonchalant fashion, chose to deflect and highlight his team as a whole rather than himself.
“I would hope so,” Cunningham said. “I thought it was a good game for us. I think we all made a statement. We’re coming to win every night. We want to impose ourselves and our identity every night. Starting on defense and (transitioning) that to offense — scoring in the paint, defending in the paint.
“That’s the statement we want to make every night. And tonight was a big night for us.”
His teammate and fellow Texas native Ron Holland II made Cunningham’s case for him.
“Ain’t nobody else in the league doing it like him,” Holland told The Athletic. “You look at points, assists, his impact on the floor, the things he’s had to go through these past years, and he hasn’t complained. That alone, I feel like, should separate him from everyone else. He just goes out there and plays his game.
“I don’t see anyone in the NBA better than him at doing that.”
To Holland’s point, Cunningham’s 465 assists this season lead the association. Cunningham’s 11.1 net rating is the sixth-best among players who have suited up in at least 48 games this season. His 41.7 assist percentage, which accounts for the percentage of his teammates’ made shots he’s assisted on this season, ranks third in the league for point guards.
Duncan Robinson — who played with multiple All-Stars during his tenure with the Miami Heat — echoed Holland’s sentiments and took it a step further.
“He really controls the pace, plays at his own pace,” Robinson told The Athletic. “He’s so big, and he can handle the ball. There’s nothing, really, you can do if he wants to get to his spot. The only thing you can do is kind of make it tough on him. But he can make tough ones. So, that was fun tonight. I was just sitting back watching sometimes.
“The cool thing about Cade is, he does it in so many different ways. He’s had a couple games where he’s had like 15, 16 assists. Obviously, he can score, but he can beat you in so many ways. … He’s fun to play with, just a super good teammate. He’s kind of over himself in that way, you know? He’s so talented, so good. But he never makes it about himself, which is really unique for someone as good as him.”
Cunningham has ascended into an echelon worthy of serious MVP consideration.
Robinson is shooting 40.2 percent from long distance this season. He’s on pace for his third season shooting at least 40 percent from 3-point range, and his first since his third year in the league. Cunningham has assisted the Michigan product on 70 of his made triples this season, and Robinson is shooting 46.1 percent on 3s assisted by Cunningham, per NBA.com.
“He’s flirting with a triple-double every game, and it’s so consistent. So, why wouldn’t he be the MVP?” teammate Javonte Green told The Athletic. “First place (in the East and in the NBA as far as win percentage at 75.9). He’s carrying his team. He’s putting up All-Star numbers, he was an All-Star starter, so why not?
“I’ve played with a lot of good guys, don’t get me wrong. But to play on both sides and to play as hard as you can on both sides for 48 minutes, or however long you’re out there, is inspiring, bro. And it’s a blessing to see that, especially from a young guy in Cade with all the accolades he has already.”
Cunningham, who went 17-of-34 from the field and made 5 of 11 3s, finished five points shy of his career high on Thursday.
“It’s hard for me to think of five guys in this league that do more on both ends than he does,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He guards the other team’s best perimeter player on any given night. Offensively, the ball is in his hands, his usage rate is through the roof. He never says no, he never complains. He goes out, and he gets the job done, and it’s impacted winning. … Superstars are people who impact winning at a level that he has.
“The thing I’m most impressed with is how consistent he is as a human through it all, and how consistent as a teammate he is through it all. He just does the right thing by his teammates over and over again to help them excel and succeed also. If you’ve got a superstar player with talent and superstar character, he’s the guy who goes down in the Hall of Fame someday. And Cade is playing at that level.”
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Hunter Patterson is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Detroit Pistons. Before joining the NBA staff, Hunter was an editor on The Athletic’s news desk and provided occasional Sacramento Kings coverage. Prior to The Athletic, he worked for the NBA as a broadcasting assistant. Hunter graduated from Loyola Marymount University and earned his master’s degree in Specialized Journalism at the University of Southern California.
