Cade Cunningham helped set the tone as the Detroit Pistons overpowered the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-94 in Game 6 at Rocket Arena, leveling the series and forcing a decisive Game 7 in Detroit. He finished with 21 points, including five made three-pointers, as Detroit controlled the second half.
Reflecting on the performance of Jalen Duren, Cunningham highlighted the big man’s energy and consistency. “I thought it was great. I thought his aggression was great when he had the ball, when he didn’t have the ball going, you know, rebounding outside of his area. He did a lot of great things tonight and that’s who he is. So that’s what we need him to be in these playoffs. You know he really set the tone with that.”
Defensively, Detroit’s second-half dominance became the defining stretch of the game, with Cleveland held to 29% shooting after halftime. “You know just our will. Executing the game plan obviously. But just our will our aggression and you know getting into the ball you know not wanting to lose. I mean they got good players over there. They got guys that can really make plays. So you know it takes a lot of effort to guard them. Takes all five guys to guard them. And I thought we did a really good job.”
Cunningham also pointed to the team’s mentality in high-pressure moments throughout the postseason run. “Stick together. You know, we stay in the moment. We don’t get ahead of ourselves, but most importantly, we stick together. And you know, when things get ugly or whatever, we come together, we talk, you know, we get back in the moment and then we move forward from there.”
The Pistons’ depth once again proved decisive, with multiple bench contributors stepping up. “Yeah, it was great. We needed every bit of it. Sasser was amazing. Baugh obviously did it again. Had another great game. [Duncan Robinson] been great all series. I mean, it’s been a collective effort having Dunc come back, he made some huge shots for us, so it’s been a collective effort. We needed every bit of it. Great team win.”
Detroit also leaned into a four-guard look that helped generate spacing and defensive versatility. “Yeah, I mean we got four playmakers out there. We got you know we finally have started to get some synergy with it. We kind of know what we’re trying to get to and stuff like that. And I think it’s been solid defensively. You know being able to switch and guard everything.”
Cunningham, who recently returned from a collapsed lung, said his conditioning and rhythm are trending in the right direction. “I feel great. I’m excited. I still got a lot of adrenaline in me, so I feel great. I’m ready to go.” He also added on his shooting growth: “I mean just letting it fly, trusting my work, being really intentional with how I warm up and, you know, going into each shot, making sure I give it a good chance.”
Looking ahead to Game 7 at home, Cunningham expects a high-energy environment. “It’s going to be a lot of energy. It’s going to be a madhouse in there.” When asked about the possibility of more courtside star presence, he added, “Yeah, that’d be great.”
