How Cade Cunningham showed he can take over for Detroit Pistons

Cade Cunningham scored his third bucket of the night against one of the NBA’s biggest stars. He used an in-and-out dribble to catch Kevin Durant off-balance, drove into him and used his shoulder to create space before laying the ball in.

It was one of many impressive buckets the Detroit Pistons’ No. 1 overall pick made during a 17-point, four-rebound performance. Cunningham is still finding his rhythm after missing a month of action with an ankle sprain, but he hit three big shots in the fourth quarter to keep the Pistons within striking distance against an Eastern Conference contender.

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After the game, Durant gave Cunningham his props. The relationship between the two players started while Cunningham was in high school, Durant said. The two players recorded a Zoom call (with some NSFW language) together in February, before Oklahoma State played back-to-back games against Oklahoma ahead of the NCAA tournament. Durant said he’s excited to see where Cunningham’s career goes from here.

“I love Cade’s game,” Durant said after his Brooklyn Nets defeated the Pistons on Friday, 96-90. “I think he’s going to be a tough, tough player for a long, long time. I got to know him when he was in high school so we got to build a little relationship. To play against him in the NBA is sweet.

“We had a lot of conversations about being on this level and what it took,” Durant continued. “To see him out here battling through some injuries in the start, but to come out here and play aggressive tonight and hit some big shots, I’m happy for him and looking forward to seeing his…