Clutch Cade Cunningham Leads Pistons to Game 2 Win over Cleveland Cavaliers

There have been a lot of “first time since…” statements in Detroit thanks to Cade Cunningham.

The Detroit Pistons defeated Cleveland Cavaliers 107-97 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead to Cleveland. It’s the first time the Pistons have held such a lead in a playoff series since 2008.

After scoring 23 points and dishing out seven assists in his team’s Game 1 win over the Cavs on Tuesday, Cade dropped 25 and 10 (including a dozen in the fourth quarter) to help the Pistons take a commanding lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

One of the biggest plays of the week came on this step-back 3-pointer to put Detroit up nine with just over two minutes to go.

CADE CUNNINGHAM IS A BAD MAN 🥶 pic.twitter.com/ML7aJPrFnO

— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) May 8, 2026

This comes after Cade led Detroit to a first round series win over the Orlando Magic in the first round, the Pistons’ first time to move on in the postseason also since 2008 (also against the Magic). This time the Pistons fell behind 3-1 to the Magic before rattling off three-straight wins to take it in seven. That included a Pistons record 45 points from Cade in Game 5.

Checkout his full game highlights.

Cade Cunningham 25 PTS, 10 AST, 1 STL, 2 BLK, 7/14 FG, 3/6 3FG, 8/8 FT, 71.3% TS vs Cavs https://t.co/MIVzXiaOiK pic.twitter.com/g0qu4bcljj

— Basketball Performances (@NBAPerformances) May 8, 2026

The Pistons and Cavs will meet for Game 3 at 2 p.m. CST Saturday in Cleveland. The game will be televised on NBC.