Cade Cunningham did not quite stick the landing against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons saw their impressive 13-game win streak come to an end at TD Garden in Boston, Mass. They fell by a final score of 117-114 in an exciting NBA Cup showdown.
The Pistons star Cunningham had a phenomenal game overall, finishing with 42 points, eight rebounds, and five assists to lead the way for Detroit. But his final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter could not possibly have gotten much worse.
With the Pistons trailing 111-110, Cunningham brutally airballed a stepback 3 with under 25 seconds left. Detroit got another chance though thanks to an offensive rebound by Ausar Thompson followed by a timeout to reset.
Unfortunately though, Cunningham made another mess of it and proceeded to turn the ball over after trying to dribble behind his back. Check out the full sequence.
Cade Cunningham with 2 HUGE clutch plays to seal the W for Detroit pic.twitter.com/x98ehZByzi
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) November 27, 2025
After the two teams then traded trips to the free throw line, the Celtics took a 115-112 lead. Cunningham and the Pistons got one last chance though when Cunningham was fouled on a three-point shot by Boston’s Jordan Walsh.
But after making the first two free throws, Cunningham bricked the third (potential game-tying) free throw, and the Celtics ultimately held on to win the game in regulation.
cade cunningham misses game tying free throw; pistons vs celtics pic.twitter.com/whuH18bHfu
— ◇ (@F0RGIAT0) November 27, 2025
Cunningham and the Pistons still deserve a whole lot of flowers right now. Even with the loss, they are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference at 15-3 with Cunningham averaging a fantastic 27.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 9.6 assists per game overall. But that late meltdown against the Celtics on Wednesday was almost akin to the one that we saw by the Minnesota Timberwolves in NBA Cup play just last week.
