Cade Cunningham delivered the finest night of his career on Thursday, scoring 52 points with 11 assists and zero turnovers as the Detroit Pistons outlasted the Washington Wizards 144-140 in double overtime at Capital One Arena. It was a performance that had the NBA talking — a career high in points, delivered with the kind of control that made the zero in the turnover column almost as remarkable as the 52 itself.
Cunningham shot 16-of-25 from the field and added five rebounds, a steal and a block in a marathon night that needed two extra periods to settle. According to the NBA’s official recap, his 52 points set a new personal best, and the 11 assists without a single giveaway put the night in rare company. Detroit needed every bit of it: Washington refused to go away, twice forcing overtime before the Pistons finally pulled clear.
Young leads a Wizards fightback
Trae Young kept Washington in the contest with 37 points and 14 assists, while Anthony Davis added 30 points and 15 rebounds for the home side. The Wizards matched Detroit basket for basket through regulation and the first overtime, and the game swung on Cunningham’s ability to keep creating clean looks late, when tired legs usually produce mistakes. Instead, he produced none.
A night that defines a franchise player
Cunningham was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft, and nights like this are why Detroit built around him. He became an All-Star last season, and his combination of size, vision and late-game calm has made him the player the Pistons trust with the ball on every decisive possession. A 52-point night with 11 assists and no turnovers is the kind of line that ends arguments about whether a young star has truly arrived — and it came on the road, in double overtime, against a Wizards side that refused to fold.
The win continues a strong start to the season for a Detroit side built around its young star, and it underlines how far Cunningham has come as a closer. Games like this — a career night, on the road, in double overtime, with the ball in his hands on every decisive possession — are the ones that define a franchise player. For Washington, the defeat was another lesson in how fine the margins are: 37 points from Young and a 30-15 night from Davis, and still not enough. The Knicks routed the Bucks 117-85 as Towns extended his double-double run in other NBA action this week, while George dropped 36 as the Celtics toppled the 76ers for the East lead.
