Jalen Brunson may be the NBA's Clutch Player of the Year, but it was Cade Cunningham who took over late to keep his Detroit Pistons from going home.
CADE SQUEEZES IT IN.
— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2025
THOMPSON FINISHES.
Detroit goes up 6 late on TNT! pic.twitter.com/J2fBdzgrYV
Cunningham had 11 points and two rebounds in the final six minutes of the Pistons' 106-103 victory, keeping the team alive against the New York Knicks. Two days after the Pistons lost a heartbreaker when Cunningham missed a game-winner and the referees missed a foul on Tim Hardaway's buzzer-beating attempt, Detroit's All-Star guard took command down the stretch.
Cunningham was perfect from the foul line and shot 3-of-4 from the field down the stretch, finding Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren for easy baskets and grabbing two rebounds. Even when Karl-Anthony Towns blocked Cunningham's layup, Duren grabbed the rebound for a dunk.
As for Brunson, he appeared to aggravate an ankle injury late in the fourth quarter, leaving the game and scoring just three points in the final quarter. Instead, it was Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby hitting big three-pointers in the final minute to keep the Knicks close, but New York's best chance came when Brunson knocked away an inbounds pass with 20 seconds to go, but the Pistons collected the loose ball.
Detroit got help from Cunningham's supporting cast. Duren grabbed 14 rebounds, seven of them offensive. Tobias Harris scored 17 points and blocked four shots. Thompson scored 22 points in a game where all eight of his made field goals came from within a foot of the basket.
Ausar is dunking EVERYTHING
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) April 30, 2025
7️⃣ dunks (and counting) so far pic.twitter.com/WqsSIlYXQ8
Towns came through defensively in the final quarter, grabbing five rebounds and blocking two shots. But the Pistons defense forced 13 turnovers and kept the Knicks off the three-point line, limiting New York to 25 attempts from distance.
Now the Pistons get to return home for Game 6 after three straight games going down to the wire. With the last three games having been decided by a total of six points, this series may well come to down to which All-Star is most clutch. Or whether Brunson's ankle heals well.
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Ichiro Suzuki delivered an amazing speech as he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, and it even included a surprising swipe at one of his own former teams. During the iconic speech, Ichiro took the time to thank each of of the three MLB teams that he played for across his 19 MLB seasons. When he arrived at the Miami Marlins, he made a hilarious wisecrack about how he had never heard of the team before they offered him a contract in 2015. “And to the Miami Marlins: I appreciate David Samson and Mike Hill for coming today. Honestly, when you guys called to offer me a contract for 2015, I had never heard of your team,” Ichiro joked. Many were surprised to hear Ichiro deliver his speech in English, as he almost always used an interpreter in interviews during and after his playing career. The fact that the 51-year-old was able to entertain the crowd while not speaking in his native language made the speech even more iconic. While thanking the New York Yankees, Ichiro had a funny comment about how his former teammates were only there to support CC Sabathia, who was also being inducted into Cooperstown. Ichiro is one of the greatest hitters in MLB history, and fans have enjoyed seeing the less serious side of him in recent months. Earlier this year, he also took a hilarious shot at the lone Hall of Fame voter who snubbed him. Ichiro called out the voter again during his speech on Sunday.
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