Anthony Edwards scores 53, but Cade Cunningham leads Pistons to win vs. Timberwolves

Coty M. Davis, The Detroit News on Jan 4, 2025

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DETROIT — Paul Reed quickly got the Detroit Pistons to stay focused Friday night. Inside the locker room at Little Caesars Arena, the Pistons celebrated a thrilling victory against the Charlotte Hornets. Although he saw nothing wrong with his teammates celebrating the win, Reed reminded the team that it had another game in less than 24 hours.

While sitting at his locker, Reed said, "We have a big one tomorrow night." His message indicated that Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves would measure the team’s improvements over the last several weeks. The mood inside the locker room quickly changed from celebratory to focused.

Reed's message led to the Pistons taking a 119-105 win over the Timberwolves Saturday night. Detroit improved to 17-18.

With one of his best scoring performances of the season, Cade Cunningham led Detroit to its third straight victory. He poured in 40 points on 15-of-29 shooting while adding nine assists and six rebounds. He went toe-to-toe with Anthony Edwards, who erupted for a career-high 53 points on 16-of-31 shooting and 10-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc.

Edwards surpassed Kevin Durant and Zach LaVine for the most points scored by an opponent at Little Caesars Arena. He came into the game averaging 16.3 points over his previous three games.

But unlike Edwards, who put on a one-man show for the Timberwolves, Cunningham received significant help from his teammates. Detroit had four players who scored in double figures. Malik Beasley added 23 points off the bench, while Tobias Harris recorded 16 points and 11 rebounds. Ausar Thompson recorded 10 points, 10 rebounds and half a dozen steals.

Julius Randle, who finished with 17 points, was the only other player who scored in double figures for Minnesota. The Pistons have now won six out of their last seven.

Apart from allowing Edwards to score 26 points in the first half, the Pistons took control of the game with their defense. They forced the Timberwolves to commit 10 first-half turnovers. Thompson accounted for six of the Pistons' eight steals. The Pistons held a 55-43 lead at the half.

At the 2:21 mark of the third quarter, Isaiah Stewart helped the Pistons extend their lead to 92-68, their largest of the game. Stewart finished with eight points and six rebounds.

Observations and notes vs. Timberwolves

— Thompson should keep the starting role: The Pistons played their second consecutive game since losing Jaden Ivey to a massive leg injury. Ivey's absence led coach J.B. Bickerstaff to experiment with a different starting lineup, which featured Thompson getting the nod.

Amid Ivey's ongoing absence, the second-year forward should keep the starting role. The Pistons appeared more energetic and in sync than their subpar performance against the Hornets on Friday night. In the first game the Pistons played without Ivey, Wendell Moore Jr. took the starting role.

— Cunningham dealing with a minor injury: Going up against Edwards gave Cunningham extra motivation, leading to one of his best performances of the season. However, keep in mind that Cunningham played on a sore left knee, which had him listed as probable on the Pistons' injury report.

Bickerstaff revealed that Cunningham's knee soreness isn't too concerning. His wounded knee is a testament to the normal wear and tear of the NBA season.

— The Timberwolves are big-time losers in trade with the Knicks: Last season, the Timberwolves were one of the best teams in the league and advanced to the Western Conference finals. However, Karl-Anthony Towns was vital to Minnesota's success. For some odd reason, the franchise decided to trade him to the New York Knicks this offseason.

With the season approaching its halfway mark, the Timberwolves are clearly the biggest losers of the trade. Towns is having an MVP-caliber season, leading New York to a 24-11 record. The Timberwolves have fallen to 17-17 with no on-court chemistry.

Up next

The Pistons will end their four-game homestand on Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers. This will be Chauncey Billups' first return to Detroit since his Hall of Fame enshrinement in August.

The Pistons will honor their former All-Star with a special retail capsule with Mitchell & Ness. The two-piece capsule features a “Mr. Big Shot” T-shirt and a Hall of Fame Hoodie. Kroger will present a Chauncey Billups bobblehead to the first 5,000 fans. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena.