Cade Cunningham’s 52-Point Explosion Sends Pistons Past Wizards After Double-Overtime Battle

Cade Cunningham celebrates after powering the Pistons to a double-overtime win© Instagram/ cadecunn1ngham

Cade Cunningham scored a career-high 52 points on Thursday night as the Detroit Pistons beat the Washington Wizards 144-140 in double overtime at Capital One Arena. He shot 16-of-25 from the field and 17-of-18 at the line, and added 11 assists without a turnover. Twelve of the points came in the two extra periods. Washington had three players score at least 30 points and still lost. Trae Young led them with 37, but Cunningham scored 15 more, and the late stretch was his. Detroit moved to 8-3 with the win, while the Wizards dropped to 4-9.

Cade Cunningham Scores 52 Points Against The Wizards

The 25-year-old guard broke the old mark of 46 points, set last year against the same Wizards team. Cunningham also grabbed five rebounds and added a steal and a block. Defenders came at him in waves, including Young, AJ Dybantsa, Kyshawn George and Bilal Coulibaly. None of them had an answer. An insurance basket with 25.3 seconds left helped close it out.

The scoring is what grabs the eye, but the zero in the turnover column is the stranger part. According to OptaSTATS, “Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons is the only NBA player with 50+ points, 10+ assists, and zero turnovers in a game,” with the mark counted “since turnovers were first officially tracked in 1977-78.” Handling the ball that much for two overtimes with no giveaway is rare.

Pistons Get Help As Three Wizards Top 30 Points

Cunningham had helped down the stretch. Ausar Thompson posted a triple-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Daniss Jenkins scored 21 points and pulled down six rebounds, while Duncan Robinson had 13 points and three rebounds.

Washington had big numbers of its own. Young finished with 37 points and 14 assists. Anthony Davis scored 30 with 15 rebounds, and Alex Sarr also reached 30. The Wizards became the first team to lose a game with three 30-point scorers since the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2023.

The numbers pile up beyond the turnover mark. Cunningham is the first Piston with a 50-point game since Malachi Flynn in 2024. It is the fourth 50-point game in the NBA this season, after two from Luka Doncic and one from Victor Wembanyama. He is also the first Eastern Conference player with at least 50 points, 10 assists, five rebounds, a steal and a block in one game.