Cade Cunningham scores career-high 52 as Pistons edge Wizards 144-140 in double overtime

Cunningham's career night

Cade Cunningham scored a career-high 52 points and added 11 assists as the Detroit Pistons beat the Washington Wizards 144-140 in double overtime on Thursday, 12 November. Cunningham converted 16 of 25 field-goal attempts, 3 of 5 threes and 17 of 18 free throws, and he committed no turnovers. According to OptaSTATS, no player had reached 50 points and 10 assists without a turnover since the league started logging turnovers in 1977-78, and Cunningham is the first to do it. He scored 30 of his points between the fourth quarter and overtime, and his previous career high of 46, set just over a year earlier, also came against Washington. Ausar Thompson added the first triple-double of his career with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, along with three steals and three blocks.

How the two overtimes unfolded

Trae Young's 3-pointer at the buzzer forced the first overtime, and rookie AJ Dybantsa's midrange shot with less than a second left sent the game into a second extra period. Washington opened the first overtime on a 7-0 run to lead 128-121. Detroit answered with a 5-0 run to take a 132-130 lead, according to NewsIT, before Dybantsa tied it at 132-132.

In the second overtime, Cunningham hit a three, and Anthony Davis fouled out, which gave Detroit the upper hand. Cunningham then scored from the baseline to make it 142-138 with 25.3 seconds left, and Washington could not recover from there.

Washington's scoring and a franchise first

Trae Young scored 37 points and handed out 14 assists, but he made only 8 of 23 shots. Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr scored 30 points apiece, giving Washington its first trio of 30-point scorers in a game since 18 November 1969, when Mike Davis, Earl Monroe and Gus Johnson did it for the Baltimore Bullets. Sarr made all 10 of his regulation field-goal attempts and finished 12 of 14. Young's 14 assists were two more than Washington's entire team produced in a loss at Indiana. Detroit has now beaten Washington twice in four games, while Washington has dropped six straight and sits at 4-9.

Cade Cunningham52

Trae Young37

Anthony Davis30

Alex Sarr30

Daniss Jenkins21

Ausar Thompson17

Cade Cunningham

52 points

Trae Young

37 points

Anthony Davis

30 points

Alex Sarr

30 points

Daniss Jenkins

21 points

Ausar Thompson

17 points

Data from the article text

Standings and the rest of the slate

Detroit improved to 8-3 and remains third in the Eastern Conference, behind Boston (10-2) and Philadelphia (10-3), according to 7sur7. Philadelphia beat Toronto 123-112 without LeBron James, who was sidelined by sciatica, as Tyrese Maxey scored 27, Joel Embiid 20 and Jaylen Brown 18. Minnesota won its fifth straight game, 133-94 over Dallas, with LaMelo Ball scoring 22 and Bones Hyland 24, while Cooper Flagg was held to 12 points, his lowest total of the season. Phoenix beat Charlotte 101-96, with Devin Booker finishing with 30 points, 7 assists and 3 interceptions. Minnesota occupies third place in the Western Conference.

What comes next

Detroit play at Miami on Saturday, 14 November, and the four-game road trip continues in San Antonio and New Orleans. Washington host Houston on Sunday, 15 November, after dropping six straight games. The Pistons go into the Miami game at 8-3, while Washington sits at 4-9 heading into its home date with Houston.