Cade Cunningham amassed 25 points and 12 assists to lead a balanced Detroit attack as the Pistons took charge in the third quarter and strolled to a 125-110 win over the short-handed San Antonio Spurs on Friday in Austin, Texas.
The game was the second in two nights for the Spurs in the Texas capital, their home away from home, and the eighth of their 12-game rodeo road trip. San Antonio, playing without star center Victor Wembanyama, was the worse for the wear, running out of gas in the second half after leading by as many as 10 points late in the second quarter.
Detroit, which equaled a season high with its fifth straight win, grabbed the lead on a Cunningham basket just before halftime and stretched its advantage to 101-80 on Malik Beasley’s 3-pointer with 34 seconds to play in the third quarter.
The Spurs never made a charge in the fourth, losing for the second time in their past three games.
Tobias Harris added 22 points, Jalen Duren racked up 21 points and 15 rebounds, and Beasley had 16 points for Detroit.
Keldon Johnson led San Antonio with 28 points off the bench while De’Aaron Fox added 27, Stephon Castle had 12 and Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 10.
The Pistons took charge early on, breaking away from a 2-2 tie with an 11-0 run capped by Cunningham’s driving hook shot at the 8:49 mark of the first quarter and led 36-27 after 12 minutes of play.
The Spurs got back in the game with a 12-3 run to start the second quarter and took their first lead of the game when Chris Paul canned a 3-pointer at the 7:55 mark. San Antonio stretched its advantage to 10 points on a three-point play by Fox with 3:23 left.
Detroit ended the half with a 16-5 run culminated by Cunningham’s 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining and carried a 63-62 advantage into the break.
Harris led all scorers before halftime with 18 points while Cunningham had 10. Fox paced the Spurs with 17 points, Johnson hit for 13 and Castle added 10 in the first half.
Detroit continued its run after halftime, scoring the first 13 points of the third quarter to build its lead to 76-62.
–Field Level Media
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