The Utah Jazz came to Little Caesars Arena on Monday with the NBA’s best offense, and one of its best overall records. They looked the part against the Detroit Pistons.
Until they suddenly didn’t.
Cade Cunningham and Saddiq Bey both scored 29 points each to lead the Pistons to an upset win over the Jazz, 126-116.
The Pistons (9-30 overall) have now won four of their last six, including a win over the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks on the road earlier this month. Detroit trailed by 22 points midway through the second quarter on Monday before Cunningham dominated the third quarter, and Bey stepped up in the fourth.
BIG MAN ON CAMPUS: New Piston Bol Bol’s two-way upside makes him an intriguing trade pickup
Cunningham has an efficient shooting night, going 10-for-17 from the field and and 5-for-9 from 3. Bey made 10 of his 14, including 5 of 7 from the 3-point line. Cory Joseph (16 points, four assists) and Trey Lyles (16 points, six rebounds, five assists) brought energy off of the bench.
Detroit shot 51.6% overall and made 19 of 37 3-point attempts (51.4%) after missing seven of their first eight.
Cade Cunningham powers dominant third quarter
Similar to his previous three games, Cunningham was quiet during the first half on Monday. He missed his first five shots before finding a lane to the basket for a dunk with 7:33 to play before halftime. His next bucket came with 30 seconds left in the second quarter, as he knocked down a 3 to extend a 16-6 Pistons run that cut the deficit from 22 to 12.
It was a sign of what was to come. Cunningham had the best quarter of his young career in the third, scoring 18 points and tallying three assists — all of which led to 3-pointers -— to help the Pistons turn a 22-point deficit into a 88-84 lead at the end of the quarter. He generated 27 Pistons points, and helped them outscore Utah, 40-23, in the period.
MORE FROM SANKOFA: Cade Cunningham is a special player and person. Pistons know they hit jackpot
After missing his first five shots on Monday, Cunningham caught on fire by making 10 of his next 12. He only needed seven shots for his 18 points in the third, knocking down three of his four 3-point attempts and all three of his free throws.
A pull-up 3 by Cunningham tied the game at 73 with 3:53 left in the third quarter. He then completed a 3-point play with 1:10 on the clock to give Detroit an 83-82 lead, its first of the night.
Cunningham rested the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, but helped the Pistons clinch the upset win with a 3-pointer with 6:27 remaining and a 3-point play on their following possession to extend the lead to 108-100.
Saddiq Bey, hot shooting help shake slow start
It initially appeared the Pistons were heading toward a blowout loss. They missed their first five shots of the night and trailed the Jazz by 14 at the end of the first quarter, after Utah made 13 of its first 24 shots. After falling behind by 22 midway through the second, the Pistons found momentum by scoring 16 of the final 23 points of the half.
MIA: Pistons coach Dwane Casey enters NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols
Bey was just as dominant as Cunningham in the second half, scoring 22 of his 29 points in the final 24 minutes on 7-for-9 overall shooting. That included a team-high 12 points in the fourth quarter. He scored eight straight to push their lead to 119-110 with 3:02 remaining.
The Pistons’ 19 made 3-pointers were a season-high, and shot 15-for-23 (65.2%) in the second half. Joseph made all four of his 3s in the second half, and Bey and Cunningham also had four each in the half.
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa. The Free Press has started a new digital subscription model. Here’s how you can gain access to our most exclusive Pistons content. Read more on the Detroit Pistons and sign up for our Pistons newsletter.