Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons can't slow Luka Doncic in 142-124 loss to Dallas Mavericks

For a half, Cade Cunningham and Luka Doncic went shot for shot.

Unfortunately for Cunningham, the Detroit Pistons otherwise struggled to score. The Dallas Mavericks dominated the second half, using an 18-2 Mavericks run to turn a seven-point Pistons deficit into a 23-point blowout early in the fourth quarter. The bulk of Dallas' run took place with both Cunningham and Simone Fontecchio, who also had a standout night, on the bench.

The Pistons fell to the Mavericks, 142-124. Cunningham fell just short of a triple-double with 33 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists. Fontecchio finished with 27 points, setting a new career high, while shooting 9-for-13 overall and 4-for-5 from 3.

ON GUARDS:Detroit Pistons' Monty Williams gets it right by splitting up Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey

Doncic led all scorers with a 39-point, 10-assist, 10-rebound triple-double, setting an NBA record with his fifth straight triple-double of at least 35 points (as well as his sixth straight of at least 30 points). Kyrie Irving added 21 points.

The game was out of reach by the time Fontecchio subbed back in with 11 minutes remaining, after a transition dunk by Daniel Gafford pushed the lead to 111-88. For the second game in a row, head coach Monty Williams staggered Cunningham and Jaden Ivey in the second half. But it was a rougher night for Ivey, who finished with 17 points on 7-for-21 shooting.

It was also a rough night for the rest of the starters. Isaiah Stewart finished with five points and four rebounds, Ausar Thompson had four points and five rebounds before departing with an illness and Jalen Duren tallied six points, eight rebounds and three assists while being limited with foul trouble, and then getting ejected. The three combined to shoot 4-for-17.

James Wiseman made the most of his additional minutes, finishing with 17 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

Thompson exited with 8:28 remaining until halftime. Fontecchio started the second half in his place. 

Duren was tossed with 7:03 remaining in the fourth after a hard shove on Mavericks forward P.J. Washington, who initially nudged Duren to the side to help pick up his teammate. Duren was whistled for two technical fouls, and Washington received one.

Cunningham, Doncic duel 

No player in NBA history has averaged more points per game against the Pistons than Doncic, who entered Saturday’s game at 35.7 after scoring 53 in his last game against Detroit on Jan. 30, 2023. He got off to a slow start Saturday night but found his touch in the second quarter after Thompson, his primary defender, exited. 

Doncic scored 21 points in the second period on 7-for-11 shooting, and entered halftime with 26. His final bucket of the quarter, a 3-pointer, gave the Mavericks a 69-60 lead with a minute left on the clock. Thanks to Cunningham, his outburst didn’t bury the Pistons early.

Cunningham kept pace with the superstar and had 24 points at halftime — his best first half of the season. He was unusually aggressive, with 14 shot attempts — one short of his season high for a first half. He scored Detroit’s last five points of the half to cut the deficit to four, breaking down Irving for a layup then knocking down three free throws. 

It continued what has been Cunningham’s best stretch after a slow start to the season. Since Nov. 30 — a span of a 34 games — he’s averaging 22.7 points, 7.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds and three turnovers on strong efficiency (shooting 48% overall, 38.3% from 3 and 84.4% at the line). His second half was much quieter than his first, though, as he scored just nine points after halftime.

Fontecchio erupts off of bench

The 28-year-old sharpshooter was Detroit’s first substitution, entering for Ivey midway through the first quarter. He immediately got cooking. 

By the end of the quarter, Fontecchio had 13 points with three 3-pointers. And he never cooled off. Detroit’s trade deadline acquisition, who has quickly become one of their most reliable players on both ends, turned in his strongest performance yet. 

His 27 points surpassed his previous career high of 24. He continued rolling with the minutes freed up after halftime by Thompson's departure, adding another 3-pointer and a pair of interior buckets, including a cutting layup courtesy of a nice bounce pass from Wiseman. 

Fontecchio has thrived in a sixth-man role, proving he’s a competent fit alongside the other starters.

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.