Cade Cunningham’s “never die mentality” saves Pistons’ season

Not tonight, Cade Cunningham decided. Not like this.

"I don't want the season to end right now," Cunningham said after the Pistons staved off elimination against the Magic, "so gotta put it all on the line."

The season will continue Friday night in Orlando because Cunningham seized Wednesday night in Detroit. Paolo Banchero tried to wrest it from him in a prize fight between two of the NBA's best young players, but Cunningham refused to let go. On his own terms, in his own way, Cunningham scored 45 points, a franchise playoff record, in the Pistons' 116-109 win over the Magic in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

He stopped and popped from beyond the arc. He bobbed and weaved to the basket. He pulled up, he faded away, and he threw down a left-handed jam while taking a shot to the face. He reached deep in his bag and pulled out a performance that will be preserved for years, even if it only prolongs the season by a couple days. Cade was Cunning on Wednesday night, while going Ham, excuse the expression. As J.B. Bickerstaff likes to say, he was Him.

So was Banchero, with 45 points of his own. The fellow No. 1 pick, taken one year after Cade, made shot after shot in the fourth quarter to force Cunningham to close. He obliged. With the Pistons clinging to a three-point lead, desperate for a bucket with about 30 seconds to go, Cunningham drove to his right, crossed over between his legs to shake Desmond Bane Jr. and stepped back for a jumper from 15 feet. Little Caesars Arena held its breath as his shot arched through the air, and exploded when it swished through the net.

"Never die mentality," Cunningham said. "Just wanted to have a controlled aggression all night, and make sure they felt me."