Cunningham scored eight of his 18 points in the final 3:21 of the fourth quarter as the Detroit Pistons stormed back to edge the Atlanta Hawks 99–98 on Monday night, surviving a last-second lob attempt that fell just short when Jalen Johnson’s tip-in missed at the buzzer.
Jalen Duren powered Detroit with 21 points and 11 boards, and Caris LeVert added 14 plus two huge defensive stands in crunch time. The win marks the Pistons’ 15th victory in their last 17 games.
Atlanta, which had taken four of its previous five, rode a monster outing from Johnson, 29 points and 13 rebounds, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker poured in 26 and Onyeka Okongwu added 20.
The game was a tug-of-war for three quarters, with neither team leading by more than five until LeVert’s late third-quarter bucket made it 74–68. Detroit’s relentless work on the offensive glass kept them afloat, even as 22 turnovers through three quarters repeatedly opened the door for the Hawks.
Alexander-Walker knotted the game at 82 with just over seven minutes left, but Cunningham answered late. His jumper with 3:21 remaining put Detroit in front, and back-to-back LeVert-forced turnovers turned into a layup and two Cunningham free throws for a 95–89 lead.
Atlanta punched back. Johnson and Alexander-Walker drained consecutive threes to tie it at 95 with 1:12 left, but Cunningham calmly stepped into a jumper to give Detroit the edge again. After a Hawks miss, he slipped through traffic for a reverse layup with 17 seconds to play.
Alexander-Walker buried another deep ball to pull Atlanta within one, 99–98, with 1.2 seconds left. After Daniss Jenkins missed two free throws, the Hawks drew up one last lob—but Johnson’s tip came a blink too late.
Up next:
*Hawks: Host the Clippers on Wednesday.
Pistons: Head to Milwaukee to face the Bucks on Wednesday.*
