Cade Cunningham’s 27-point triple-double ended in frustration as the Detroit Pistons fell 116-109 to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Saturday at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. Despite leading a late push, the Pistons saw the Cavaliers take a 2-1 series advantage behind key late plays from James Harden and Max Strus.
The turning point came in the final minutes when Cleveland capitalized on turnovers, while Detroit’s offense stalled after briefly regaining control. Cunningham finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and eight turnovers in a high-usage playoff performance.
After the game, Cade Cunningham pointed directly to defensive inconsistency when asked about Cleveland’s second-quarter rhythm. “Yeah, let them get to their stuff a little too freely. Third quarter I thought we did a lot better job and to end the game I thought we did a lot better job defending.”
He added that the third quarter stood out as the most structured stretch for Detroit. “In the fourth they kind of got back to it, but I thought that third quarter was really good as far as just executing what we’ve been doing.”
Detroit’s rally in the second half brought the game within reach, but late mistakes shifted momentum back to Cleveland. Cunningham acknowledged the missed opportunity when discussing the final stretch.
“Yeah, for sure. I mean we did our job getting back into that game. Fourth quarter turnovers, we had a couple opportunities in transition and stuff. A couple bad ones where we don’t get the ball on rim. Inbound the ball, little things that are just careless. I don’t even say careless. I care about it a lot, but just bad plays that could have got shots on the rim and could have gave us opportunity to win this game.”
Even with 17 offensive rebounds and Cleveland scoring 27 points off turnovers, Cunningham emphasized belief in the team’s competitiveness. “Well, there’s definitely optimism to answer your question. I mean, we feel great about where we’re at. We feel great about the way that we’re playing basketball.”
He also noted the difficulty of the environment and Cleveland’s execution down the stretch. “Obviously coming into their gym, they had energy. They made shots that they’re going to make more shots. The whistle is going to go their way naturally. But I thought we did a good job of withstanding all that and still putting ourselves right there to win the game.”
When asked about the closing minutes, Cunningham pointed to execution rather than a single breakdown. “We got a lot of good things. I guess things just didn’t go our way… Just making shots, getting stops, rebound the ball. That’s the name of the game.”
He credited support from teammates, specifically praising bench production. “Yeah, he was great. Activity all over the place. On his role, scoring the ball. Just productivity, everything that he’s been doing,” he said about Paul Reed’s impact.
The Pistons star also responded to Cleveland’s late-game surge led by James Harden, who scored seven straight points to close the game. “Yeah, definitely. I mean, he’s an all-timer. Isolation score, that’s what he’s comfortable doing.”
Cunningham concluded by emphasizing preparation and mindset heading deeper into the series. “I work hard. I stay prayed up and I want to win. So it’s simple as that. I stay in the moment and whatever it calls for, I’ll go out there and do.”
With the series shifting back to Detroit, Game 4 now carries added pressure as the Pistons try to avoid losing control after letting a winnable game slip away.
