Cade Cunningham came through for the Pistons when they needed him. With Detroit teetering on the brink of elimination, Cunningham outdueled Orlando’s Paolo Banchero in a sensational scoring matchup of former No. 1 overall picks.
Cunningham had a franchise playoff-record 45 points and the top-seeded Pistons held off the eighth-seeded Magic for a 116-109 win Wednesday night in Game 5 of their first-round series, avoiding elimination for at least a couple of days.
“We dug ourselves a hole and now it’s time to climb our way out,” Cunningham said. “It’s possible.”