Cade Cunningham’s 33 points came as part of a wave of sizzling outside shooting by the Detroit Pistons in their 124-91 runaway victory against the host Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.
Cunningham shot 13-for-20 from the field with four 3-point baskets to go with his game-high seven assists. The Pistons were 18-for-37 on 3-pointers.
Duncan Robinson posted 24 points, heating up in the fourth quarter and finishing with six 3-point baskets. Ausar Thompson provided 14 points and Paul Reed and Ronald Holland II both tallied 11 points as the Pistons defeated the Hornets for the second time in less than a week.
Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 17 points, Naz Reid had 13 points and Sion James and Grayson Allen both added 11 points.
Miller has paced Charlotte, which has a four-game losing streak, in scoring in five of eight games this season, but Monday’s output was his second-lowest total. He’s 6-for-21 on 3s in two outings vs. the Pistons.
Guard Coby White made his season debut with the Hornets after missing the first seven games with a calf injury. He was in the starting lineup, scoring seven points in just under 16 minutes.
Perimeter shooting made a difference with the Pistons hitting from above 50 percent from beyond the 3-point arc for much of the game, while Charlotte connected only on 13 of 44 of its 3-point attempts. Miller, James and Allen all made three 3s.
The Pistons relied on defense in last week’s 97-89 home victory against Charlotte, but they had it going well at both ends of the court in the rematch.
Detroit’s lead ballooned to 98-75 on the power of a 33-21 third-quarter scoring edge. The Pistons were racking up transition points, converting several times off Charlotte turnovers.
With the Hornets’ deficit reaching 30 points, they went deep into their bench.
Detroit improved to 4-1 in road games.
