Where is Cade Cunningham in the MVP conversation?
Following the Pistons’ big win over the Boston Celtics, Omari and Bryce break down the improvements they’ve seen from the franchise star player.
SALT LAKE CITY — A poor defensive game was costly for the Detroit Pistons in Utah.
With 2.1 seconds left, Cade Cunningham missed a potential game-winning 3-point attempt and the Pistons fell to the Utah Jazz, 131-129. That followed Jazz guard Keyonte George (31 points) hitting the winning floater on the other end.
The Pistons gave up 44 points to the Jazz in the third quarter and allowed them to shoot 48.9% overall, including a 47.4% (18-for-38) mark from 3. Cunningham finished with 29 points, 17 assists, two steals and two blocks, and Tobias Harris added 16 points and seven rebounds.
Ron Holland returned after missing two games with a left knee sprain and finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
“Discipline, execution, commitment to who we are,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said about what the team lacked in the third period. “44 points in a quarter is unacceptable. I know we ask a lot of our guys and most nights they give it to us. Tonight was one of those nights where we were loose from the start.”
The loss snapped a three-game win streak for the Pistons (24-7), who have two more games on their Western Conference swing to close out the 2025 calendar year. Next up, the Pistons head to Los Angeles for a pair of games; they’ll face the 8-21 Clippers on Sunday (9 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit Extra) followed by a nationally televised Tuesday game (FSND, NBC, Peacock) against LeBron James and the Lakers to wrap up the road trip.
Pistons’ second half woes continue
The tide in the desert turned against the Pistons before halftime, when the Jazz closed the second quarter with a 24-14 run to cut an 11-point lead to one, 68-67. The half was beneath the Pistons’ usual defensive standard, as they allowed Utah to knock down 11 of 24 3-point attempts (45.8%) and only forced five turnovers.Â
In the third, the Pistons couldn’t get a stop defensively or the benefit of the whistle from the officials. They gave up 44 points in part because they were whistled for 14 personal fouls, after committing just six in the first half. Utah went 17-for-18 at the line, while the Pistons made just three of their six attempts.Â
“They saw fouls,” Cunningham said of the referees. “I wouldn’t say I agree with all of them, but that’s the way it was called. We’ve gotta be better. One of our points of emphasis was not putting them on the line, so too many swipe downs and sending them to the line, not following the gameplan. That’s on us, we’ve gotta be better.”
The Jazz took their biggest lead of the game, 104-89, with 2:34 remaining in the period after Kevin Love knocked down three free throws after a foul by Daniss Jenkins. They outscored the Pistons 37-21 before late 3-pointers from Jenkins and Javonte Green cut it back to single digits, 111-103, entering the fourth.Â
Second halves haven’t been kind to the Pistons this week. The Portland Trail Blazers erased a 21-point third quarter lead for the Pistons on Monday before Detroit rallied late with an 11-2 run. A day later, the Sacramento Kings cut a 21-point lead to eight with under two minutes left in the final period before the Pistons iced the win with free throws. Â
“This isn’t the level that we should be playing at,” Cunningham said. “We know we’re better than this. It’s in our standard. We’ve just gotta go back to the drawing board, figure out what that is that’s taking away from our defense. Come back better, we’ve gotta be better.”
Jaden Ivey shines as minutes restriction continues
A tepid start to the game by the Pistons allowed the Jazz to build an early nine-point lead. Ausar Thompson, who played just under 16 minutes on Friday, sat for Ivey midway through the opening quarter after he committed three turnovers early. Once Ivey checked in, the Pistons’ offense took off.
A 22-5 Pistons run followed after Ivey entered the game, and he was the key. Ivey assisted a give-and-go with Tobias Harris to cut the deficit to two, 23-21, and a 3-pointer from Ivey with 3:51 on the clock extended the run to 12-2 and gave them the lead, 26-25. Ivey had a late layup and assisted a layup by Ron Holland to extend their lead to eight at the end of the opening quarter.
“He’s been making a lot of plays,” Cunningham said of Ivey. “3-ball looks great, obviously transition he’s a monster. Him just finding spots and us putting him in good spots to be successful is everything. I think he’s playing great.”
In 14 minutes of action through the first three quarters, Ivey picked up 11 points, four assists and went 3-for-3 from 3. He didn’t play in the fourth quarter, continuing a trend over the last two weeks as the Pistons manage his return from a broken fibula and knee surgery.
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on XÂ @omarisankofa.