On Monday, the Detroit Pistons captured a 100-94 win over the New York Knicks in Game 2 of their first-round series in the 2025 NBA playoffs. Pistons guard Cade Cunningham took command of the game with his 33-point performance on 52.4 percent shooting. He also battled inside for the boards and secured 12 rebounds, a much-needed area since Isaiah Stewart was out with a knee injury.
For Detroit, their current basketball squad made history with the win. They snapped their playoff losing streak and earned their first win since the 2008 playoffs. Back then, the Pistons had an entirely different group with Rip Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace. The roster led the team to the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics.
However, the Billups-led team lost in six games against the eventual champions.
IT'S OVER‼️
The Pistons' NBA-record playoff losing streak of 15 games has been SNAPPED💥
Their last playoff win came in Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals vs. the Celtics, which was 6,174 days ago!
This was Detroit's starting lineup in that game:
🏎️Chauncey… pic.twitter.com/aCyeNiuOKK
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 22, 2025
Veteran point guard Dennis Schroder performed excellently for the Pistons. The German star came off the bench and provided the Pistons with 20 points and shot 6-for-10 from the field.
Former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson was ecstatic after the Pistons won. Although Johnson played against Detroit multiple times in his career, he still supports the team as a Michigan native. The five-time champion called Cunningham a “superstar” after his outing.
“Pistons guard Cade Cunningham showed America he’s a superstar in the making scoring 33 points tonight in their win over the New York Knicks! Dennis Schroeder scored 20 points and hit the biggest shot of the game to break the tie that helped the Pistons pull it out in the stretch 100-94. This Pistons vs. Knicks Series is great to watch!” the Hall of Fame point guard said.
Pistons guard Cade Cunningham showed America he’s a superstar in the making scoring 33 points tonight in their win over the New York Knicks! Dennis Schroeder scored 20 points and hit the biggest shot of the game to break the tie that helped the Pistons pull it out in the stretch…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 22, 2025
Game 3 will be on the home court of the Detroit Pistons, at the Little Caesars Arena on Thursday.
Detroit Pistons head coach had high praise for Cunningham
The head coach of the Detroit Pistons, J.B. Bickerstaff, was impressed with how Cunningham performed in Game 2. After the game, Bickerstaff talked to the media and revealed his thoughts on how the 6-foot-6 guard played.
“He was elite. He is a superstar, and he played the game tonight as a superstar,” Bickerstaff said.
“He did what he needed to do to help this team win. He understood how aggressive he needed to be on the offensive end of the floor, so he was going to go out and be aggressive. He also understood how important finishing possessions was, he had 11 defensive rebounds.”
Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff on Cade Cunningham: “He was elite. He is a superstar, and he played the game tonight as a superstar.” pic.twitter.com/DNfvcjHioZ
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) April 22, 2025
In his playoff debut, the former top pick finished with 21 points and shot 38.1 percent on the floor. Since then, he’s turned things around and has played efficiently.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
